Bleu Soliloqui
by cypheroftyr
Summary: Billy always thought he was an only child, and his father was a nice and decent man who'd never hurt him, was he ever wrong. After finding out about his father's past and the truth about his family, his world is turned upside down and inside out.
1. It all begins with a lie

Disclaimer: You know the drill by now...

It was a sunny day in Angel Grove, however a few of its residents wouldn't have known it from the emotional storm that they were just witnesses to. Of all the teens present, none were more shocked at the irrational and violent outburst of William Cranston than Jason Scott or Kimberly Hart. He's one of the most reserved people any of them know, and for everyone else present the display they just saw was a huge departure from the quiet, reserved boy they had come to know. In all the years Jason has known Billy, he had only twice seen his friend explode in anger, but never on the scale he had just witnessed.

He's worried senseless about his best bro', since he knows the lengths it takes to set Billy off. He wants nothing more than to run after him, but shock and a million questions from Rocky, Adam, Aisha, Tommy and Kim are holding him in place in the school's parking lot.

"What the hell was that about!" Rocky exclaimed, for once losing the joking manner that is his trademark attitude.

"Your guess is as good as mine Rocky. I've only seen him that mad twice in the years I've known him, and believe me you don't want to know what set him off. He... damn I don't know what could have happened. But I should get to his place to at least make sure he gets home without killing himself..."

"...Or anyone else the way he rolled out of here." Kim finishes for Jason. She is equally appalled at the way Billy snapped. She has known him since they were 8, and she has been lucky to never see him lose his temper the way he just had. I wonder what could have happened. , She thinks as she follows Jason to his car. She realizes that the others are starting to follow.

"Uh guys, let us get this one. Whatever it is, he more than likely won't even tell us about it. This is going to be hard Jase. Do you think he will tell us?"

"I don't know Kim. We'll just have to hope so. Can one of you take Skull inside? He probably should have the nurse check him out."

"Sure, c'mon lets get you cleaned up." Adam pulls a dazed and confused Skull into the school towards the nurses' office.

"Meet later?" Everyone just nods in unspoken agreement to meet at the usual spot to regroup after this incident.

While his friends were worrying about his apparently fragile mental state, William Cranston was in his room, seeking out some clothes and music to take with him. He has a vague idea as to where he is going to go, as long as it was as far away from his father and friends as possible. After all, what did it matter anymore, when his father had destroyed the trust and affection that had been there just four days before... that was before his world had fallen apart in a web of half-truths and deceits that apparently was being maintained by his family for months and years and that he had apparently been too dense to pick up on all this time.

The frantic ringing of the doorbell interrupts his attempts at escape the home he could now no longer stand to be in for another moment. Damn, Alex must not have remembered his keys. Hell, let him rot out there. He can get in when I leave. He might as well take my room too, since Dad seems hell-bent on acting as if this is an every day thing, lying to your only, no, correction one of two son's for his whole life.

As he is heading out the door, he realizes that it's not Alex ringing the doorbell like they are nuts; but Jase and Kim thanks to Jason's 4x4 in his driveway. , and that they were more than likely going to attempt to figure out what is going on with him. After all, he cheerfully beat Skull down and peeled out of the school lot like his ass was on fire. Great, what I DO NOT want right now!

He opens the door, looking decidedly unhappy at his very unwanted guests. Kim and Jason are startled by the fact that they hadn't heard Billy coming, and are greeted by a very grim looking Blue Ninjetti.

"Uh, umm, hi... can we come in?"

"I'm on my way out, is it important?"  
"Well, after what just happened, I, we... are concerned about you. C'Mon Billy, please don't do this-"

Billy, who wants to hear none of whatever line of reasoning that Jason had been attempting to use, cuts him off.

"Save it Jason, I don't want to hear that phrase ever again for the rest of my life. I will do whatever the fuck I please from now on. Now get off the porch and get out of the way."

Jason, who is shocked at the rude way in which he was just spoken to won't tolerate that tone from anyone, let alone William Cranston, who would never even use such crass language under normal circumstances. But these can't be normal circumstances, since the Billy I know would never harm anyone on purpose, let alone seem to enjoy it. He grabs Billy by the collar of his T-shirt and lifts him off the ground, bringing him face to face with himself.

"Dammit Cranston, I may have known you for years, but no one talks to me like that. Least of all a guy who I consider a brother and friend!"

Kim is trying to diffuse the situation, since she is picking up on Billy's anger, realizing this could get really ugly, really quickly.

"Jason, let him go. This is getting out of hand; starting a screaming match on the front porch isn't going to resolve anything and he wants to go. Let him leave, but if we need to find him we can, remember?" She taps her communicator, reminding him that if needed they could track him down at any time. Jason looks at her reluctantly, and then puts Billy down on the porch.

He tries to read the look on Billy's face, and realizes that something has to be horribly wrong with his best friend. Kim intercedes, she can't quite read Billy's expression, but whatever has him on this rampage must have hurt more than anything he had experienced in his life, maybe even more than losing his mom had.

"Billy, we're just worried about you. Don't shut us out, but at least leave knowing that we are here for you. I don't know what happened and why you have seemingly gone out to lunch up here she taps his temple, gently for emphasis. We are here when or if you want to talk to someone. You didn't come to school yesterday, and today you have been acting like a lunatic. This is a 180-degree turn around from the guy that walked out of school last Friday afternoon.

If you don't want to talk about it, fine. We know all too well that you won't talk about a problem if you really don't want to, but dammit we're your friends and we care. You know the number if you want to call."

She stops and looks up at him, and Billy is apparently fighting with himself over wanting to give in to the rational side of himself that knows his friends really are concerned about him and the mania that seems to have gotten a strangle-hold on his mind since last Friday night. He just looks away from them and goes back to the living room, leaving the front door open. Kim and Jason enter, and shut it, waiting for some indication of whether they are wanted or not. "Is he aware that we are here?" Jason, is still upset at the way Billy had spoken to him, but he more concerned with the vacant expression that has replaced the look of sheer rage he had just seen in Billy's eyes not too long before.

"I don't know if he is aware of us or not."

"Um, Billy do you want us to stay here or would you like to be alone right now?"

"Kim, I...don't know what I want exactly. I want last weekend to not have happened. I want to not feel like I am feeling right now. Jason, please excuse the way I spoke to you. I'm not myself... any longer. I'm going to my Uncles cabin for ...a while. I need to get away from here, from everyone for a little while. If you see Alexander or my father will you tell them I'm at my Uncles place and I will call them later, maybe."

"Sure man, you know the number, please use it if you need to." Jason says this softly, letting Billy know how much he means it by giving his shoulder a squeeze as he gets up to leave for emphasis. Kim hugs him then joins Jason at the front door. They leave when it seems that Billy isn't going to see them out or even is willing to move off of the couch. After they exit the Cranston home, they decide to join the gang at the Juice Bar and discuss what this strange turn of events could mean for the team and for them as friends.

Billy finishes hauling his duffel and laptop to the car and heads out to his uncle's cabin in Forest Creek. He has on a Gypsy Kings CD that had been a gift from Adam on his birthday this year.

Damn my father, damn him to hell for lying to me! he thinks angrily as he heads to his uncle's cabin. His thoughts continue in this vein until he pulls up to his uncle's resort.

He heads in, knowing that he will have to tell them the truth about his sudden arrival, and his father will be sure to call them once he realizes that Billy is missing.

"Hi Uncle Dave, Aunt Erinn. Did you get my message?"

"We did, why the urgency though William?"

"I'd rather put my things away first, it's a long story." He just waits there at the front desk, sheepishly waiting his uncle's 3rd degree treatment. The only other time Billy had just shown up on their stoop was when he had had a horrible fight with his father shortly after his mother had been killed.

"Sure, c'mon in. Here is the key to the back cabin. Stay for a while. And if your dad calls...?"

"Tell him what you like, I, we had a major falling out and this time it's worse than when I was 11. He, he lied to me David." After that soft curse, he leaves for his cabin. His aunt and uncle watch the teen heading down the hall, and notice the weariness of spirit that no one that young should have experienced.

"Damn, I wonder what Lance did that has him so beat down? I'll call him, he must be worried sick too."

"Go head', I'll start on dinner, and let him tell us in his own time. You know he is stubborn as an ox, and he wont budge the minute you start pushing him to talk. He can be an ornery little cuss, but I wouldn't have him any other way." They head off in separate directions, David to find out what could have happened between his brother and nephew, Erinn to start dinner for them.

Billy meanwhile is in his cabin, showering and trying to feel a little better, at least physically. Once he has showered and changed clothes, he feels up to the impending interrogation that he is sure to come from David. He is surprised to hear his uncle cussing out someone on the phone and he's glad that he's not the target of the colorful expletives his uncle is imparting to the unfortunate person.

As he meanders into the kitchen, his communicator goes off, and his aunt just looks up with a questioning look on her face.

"Um, it's my pager. I'll be back in a sec." After he gets back to his room for, he checks in. "I read you, what's going on?"

"We need you at the chamber like yesterday man. This is something I think you should handle, and besides, Tommy is freaking big time about this."

"Kim, what is it? Can't you just tell me?"

"No you have to see this one for yourself Billy. Please hurry."  
"Oh all right..." Damn, can't a guy even get away from this for one lousy day? He heads back to the kitchen, and gives his aunt a lame excuse for running off as soon as he's gotten there.

"Um aunt Erinn, I need to..."

"It's ok, go on. I'll tell David you're with friends. Come back soon."

"Thanks, I'll be back soon as possible." With that, he departs to the Command Center to find out what he is so desperately needed for. When he gets there a minute later, he nearly faints when he comes face to face with himself, Jason and Rocky. But he' and the others are radically altered versions of himself and the friends he has come to know over the years.

The other shocking difference is that they seem to be rangers, but in different colors than they wound up in his reality. Rocky is in black, Jason is in Blue and he is in Green of all colors. The physical differences don't stop there either. He is much more rougher and meaner looking as well, and if he didn't know better, he would have sworn that he could see a tattoo under his sleeve. Rocky has a thin goatee and two earrings, and his hair is in the style that Tommy favored back in his Green Ranger days.

Jason is the biggest shock for him though. This one is garbed in head to toe blue, and is just plain evil looking. He has hoop earrings in both ears, and a huge panther tattoo that must take up his whole upper-right arm. He is wearing a darker shade than Billy usually favors, and his hair is a light shade of brown up top and it's normal ebony on the back and sides. His features are locked into a scowl that would shame Tommy on his worst day.

No one seems to be able to find any words that would seem appropriate, only the three alternate versions of them-selves seem to be somewhat composed. The other Billy' speaks first since none of the gang has been even able to do much beside stare at them.

"What is going on here? Who the hell are you people and how is Tommy still here? He is supposed to be paralyzed." Realization dawns on him, and he figures that the tricky teleport that they had tried as a last ditch effort must have worked. But, he still is unsettled to see a whole and healthy Tommy in this reality.

Tommy, who has been an emotional wreck on the inside since they were teleported in, finally squeaks out "P.p.paralyzed! What do you mean I'm supposed to be paralyzed!" He can't believe that he is seeing whom he is seeing, and the fact that Billy is wearing Green is a little too much for him. He starts to flash back to his days as Rita's evil servant. He shakes it off for the present time since there is no way anyone can be the green ranger again, Rita saw to that after all. He tunes back in as Billy' is explaining himself to the others.

"...He finally mocked me one time too many, and I finally lost it. I should have thanked him though; the rage that I finally let out helped a lot. It finally allowed my true powers to become active." Billy' explains this to Tommy with calmness in his voice and with an icy grin that is making his counterpart want to hurl.

"So we can assume that you are all rangers, correct?" Jason asks them... He is really hoping that they are some ploy to draw out the real Rangers, and that the stupidity of this plan would allow them to destroy these guys who just had to be fakes. Please for the love of whatever God was out there, let them be really bad clones.

"Yeah, what's it to you? From what we can tell, you are the powerless one here. Why are you even allowed here, this place is for Rangers after all." Rocky' says this glaring at his alternate while making his verbal stab at Jason, who was still not an active ranger during his break from the conference in Switzerland.

"Not nice, Rocko, we didn't come here to harass Jason, we don't even need him in this plane. No need to rub it in ya'know." Billy' reprimands Rocky' gently, and turns to face his counterpart and stare him down. "So, if you are the smart one here, you tell me what we want."

Billy is still quiet, taking measure of his alternate. This Billy' seems to not be all there mentally, but it's in a deadly, intellectual way. Apparently he is not one to be screwed with; if what he said about their Tommy was true. One thing he knew about himself was that he didn't lie, but then again this wasn't himself, just a different version.

"Well, uh Billy'..." His alternate cuts him off...

"Call me that again and I'll rip your balls off and feed them to you for dinner. No one calls me that, the one person who could no longer graces our planet. I don't care if it is your name too, call me Will or William."

"No need to be like that. Besides, I lost her too you know. Anyway, Will... you need some kind of help wherever it is you came from? Either you are Rangers who are evil naturally, or you were turned and you need help breaking the spell your under. Or, your entire reality is going to be destroyed unless you get some outside assistance. Otherwise, why would you take the chance on traveling to another reality?"

"Nice, what I would assume were the situation reversed. I wish it were that simple. Nice and neat, build something, send us home and be done. Unfortunately, it's kind of a combo deal. We are from a reality where we are still good, but a new evil that is more powerful than Zedd and Rita combined has shown up, and we are getting our collective asses kicked. Something called the Machine Empire' has shown up in our reality. Who or whatever they are, they sent Zedd and Rita packing on reputation alone. Next thing we know, everything is destroyed, Zords, this place, everything. We had a chance at new powers, by going to Phaedos, and attaining the power of Ninjetti."

"But..." Jason' who finishes the story interrupts him. "They sent a squadron of Cogs, and their army to Phaedos before we could even scare up the power to go there. They blew up Phaedos, and the sick bastards sent us a video of it. We lost all hope after that. Our chance at regaining power was lost Cogs and creatures that had been created by the Machine Empire were overrunning Earth... and all we could do was watch. A couple of us were hurt' in attacks and a couple of us were killed. Damn, we need your help. It was Zordon and Will who came up with the idea to send us to another reality where there was no Machine Empire, yet and try to attain the great Power. Maybe it would be enough, maybe not."

"But," Rocky' chimed in... "We don't even know if the Great Power even exists, it could all be some cosmic joke. And that means we would be stuck here for good. Or at least until they show up in your time frame."

After hearing this, the Ninjetti are shocked, appalled and frightened by what they have been told by these three rangers who are fighting a worse evil than they could imagine.

"Zordon, what can we do to help, if anything? We can't leave the earth undefended... and the minute they realize we have left, they will be sure to send down monsters." Jason asks, still unnerved by his counterpart, especially since he is, correction was the Blue Ranger in that reality.

"Jason, let me take counsel with both William's and we will get back to you in a while. Rangers, for now there is nothing to do here, but the moment we come up with a plan you'll be notified."

They all leave, except for Jason, who wants to stay and hear what they could possibly come up with. "Would you mind if I stayed here, I want to help out, even if I am the powerless one here?" This is said with bitterness that surprises all of those present, and the other Rocky' at least has the good grace to look embarrassed.

"Sure, Jase. It might help me calm my nerves to have you here. So, William, Zordon, what are the possibilities?"

"Billy, I have been over this in my head countless times. Even if we do attain the great power, our Phaedos has still been destroyed. So, there would be no power source once we got back, if we can get back. It would be cool while here, but once we have gotten back to our plane of existence, then how would we maintain the power? And then there is the issue of the Zords. How would we call them from here?

"If we could have some way of drawing the power from here to there, it would work with no problem." Billy states this; realizing things can never be that easy for them.

"But, if you did that you would have to have some kind of inter-dimensional pipeline that would have to remain open to allow this. And that could allow them to enter your reality if they figured out how to piggyback on the energy flow. However, since they are mechanical, they may not be smart enough to figure it out or be inclined to do so, since they could be destroyed by an energy surge."

"I'm stumped Will. I need a little time to regroup and get my head straight. That's what I was trying to do when I was called. Long story Will. Hopefully, that hasn't happened to you."

"I agree, it's been a long day for all of us. When can we meet again?"

"Tomorrow evening, in the park, about 6:00 or so. Where are you all staying?"

"At the Stone Canyon Arms, rooms 58 and 59. I signed in under BJ MacLennan. Stop by if you want. The others can if they want; besides I can see the wheels turning; you're dying to see how I wound up the Green one. G'night for now."

They leave, leaving Billy and Jason in the Command Center who then face each other uneasily after what transpired earlier between them. "Jason, I'm sorry for earlier, like I said I need to get my head straight, but this is a little more important right now. We can talk when it's over. I should get back, my aunt's probably worried about me. Tomorrow then?"

"Tomorrow, good night Billy."

As the rangers from this reality settle in for the night, Will, Rocko and Jason are getting ready for the long day they have ahead of them tomorrow. Rocko has his own room, since he didn't want to get between Will and Jason. When they wanted to have time together, it was not in anyone's best interest to interrupt. He is at the door to knock, when Jason comes up behind him and surprises him.

"What did you want Rocko, we're getting ready for bed."

"Nothing much, just wanted to be sure you two were ok. It has been a long, weird day to say the least. Seeing myself in Red was hard to take. It's the color I would have had if Tommy had taken the White. But, we are not in Kansas anymore, and who knows if we will even succeed."

"We will succeed, or we will die trying. Now go and give us some desperately needed space. After all, seeing myself with no power was harder than I thought. I need him now. Besides, he isn't all there despite the way he presented himself to them. His alternate knew it, and so do I."

"Ok, good night then. Can you wake me in the morning?"

"Sure, night Rock."

"What did Rocko want?" William asks this as he turns on his side to acknowledge Jason's presence in the room.

"He was worried about us, as usual. Being team medic is so ingrained in him he can't stop even without his powers. What about you, you had to have been in agony being so close to your double. He is in pain though. Even I could tell that."

"Billy's abilities are still dormant. But whatever it is that has him so screwed up may be his trigger event. We'll see. Now, just hold me, I need to be reminded of what's important at least for right now."  
"Sure. Turn over, I'll give you a back rub." Will is silent, grim almost as Jason gives him a back rub, and he returns the favor. He is almost asleep as he feels Jason trying to strip him, and he just looks at him with desperation born of for once in his life not knowing what to do in his eyes. "Please, just let me sleep. I know that normally I would never refuse you, but these are anything but normal circumstances. I need to get all the rest I can to work on our problem. Please let me refuse you for once. I will make it up as soon as possible."

Jason looks him over, debating the merit of pushing the issue with him now, and decides he can collect later. "Damn, I hate when you beg, at least like that. Fine, go to sleep. But if you need or want to talk to me, I'll be in Rocko's room." Jason leaves in a huff, and goes to Rocko's room. He knocks, hoping that Rock is still awake.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Jason, I want to come in."

"Sure, hold on a second." Rocko lets him in and curls back up on the bed, wondering what Jason could really want. If that was what he was after, Rocko was not the man to give him that kind of comfort. "So, what brings you to my lair?"

"I can't sleep and he is being moody. I don't have the heart to force him, and he is freaking I think. He asked me to let him be. Very unusual behavior for him, if I say do so myself. Can I crash here?"

"Sure, pull up some bed. Just let me sleep, I don't want to deal with him getting any foolish ideas like last time. Good night Jason." With that, Rocko rolls over and drifts off again, leaving Jason to his own devices. Jason lies there for a while, then drifts off to sleep, albeit one filled with nightmares of Cogs and King Mondo.

While his counterpart has been trying to get to sleep, William Cranston has been dealing with his uncle, who cannot believe the stunt Lance has pulled. He has been sitting there in awe of his Uncle's ire over what transpired last weekend. He is stunned to say the least and a little touched. He was wondering how his uncle would react to the news of his betrayal.

"David, c'mon. No need for you to get so worked up over this. I am wiped out. I spent some time with my friends, and I am feeling a little better now. Will you wake me for school, we can talk later, ok?"

"Sure Billy, but your father is on my shit list boy. I can't believe he would do that, and then tell you in such a way. He had to know that it would mortify you to have him tell you in such a way. I'll throttle him within an inch of his life when I see him again. Go on, I'm still a little hot under the collar. I'll be sure to wake you. What time?"  
"6:30 should be more than enough time. Please calm down; you're madder than I was, I think. I'll get through this. I just hope I can get back some of the trust I lost. Night Uncle David, Aunt Erinn." He takes his leave of them, finally falling into a fitful sleep, with dreams of himself as the evil Green Ranger, and Jason as being the one who freed him from Rita's spell. He wakes up the next day, tired and slightly irritated. He puts on his usual "I'm okay" front for his friends, and awaits the repercussions of his fight with Skull. Kim and Aisha, who are still worried about his mental state, especially after their added problem of three powerless rangers from another reality who needed help desperately just showed up out of the blue, greet him with a little trepidation considering his actions the previous afternoon.

"Hi guys, what's wrong?" He can't quite read the looks on Kim and Aisha, so he isn't sure how to deal with them at the moment.

"Just wondering how you are feeling Billy, should you even be at school today?" Aisha is very worried, mostly because she has been nursing feelings for the real Billy since it was discovered that he was the real one and not the clone had harmed her almost four months ago. She is trying to drop hints, but is unsure of how to proceed after his outburst the day before.

"Yeah, I should be here. Better than moping around at my uncle's place. Thanks for worrying." He is rewarded with a brilliant smile and a blush from Aisha. No that is impossible, she can't be blushing! I'm really pushing things if I dare to hope that she would have any interest in me, king geek of Angel Grove High. Besides, I have some major issues to work through; maybe later we should talk, for now though best to play it cool. 

"Aisha, would you like to have lunch, together?"

"S, Sure. I've got to go to class now. See you at fourth period for lunch, here?"

"Of course." Aisha bounces off to class. Billy just has a bemused expression on his face as he turns to face Kim. "Any clue what that was about? She just about floated down the hall."

"God, are you blind Billy? She is on cloud nine because you asked her to have lunch. I think she has it bad for you. She must, cause you guys' have had lunch before and she has never reacted like that before. Never mind. Sorry."

"Stop it, don't start apologizing for whatever you were about to say. Sorry, but I get a huge F in the subject of deciphering the female of the species. I wouldn't know interest if it came up and bit me on the ass. I like her too. Don't tell her just yet Kim; I want to see what will happen at lunch. I'll keep you posted as things develop. Don't forget, 6 in the park."

"I won't. Have fun later. Gotta go, I have Chem. first period, and he is not one to tolerate tardiness."

"Bye Kim, catch you later.' His day is uneventful until lunch with Aisha. They opt to eat outside where the school has set up benches and tables for students inclined to dine out of doors. He is kind of nervous, considering that he thinks she likes him. Once they settle in and start eating, he notices Aisha is a little fidgety and can't seem to sit still.

"Are you ok, you seem awful antsy."

"I'm ok, just worried about my bio finals." She says this with a blush, not looking directly at him.

"I'd be happy to help you out, if you need it. Anytime at all you know." He has decided to attempt to speak in more vernacular terminology, considering that no one understands a word he says otherwise. He tries to inflect his voice so that she can get the hint about his non-academic interest in her. She gulps, looks him in the eye, and before she chickens out, asks him on a date.

"Billy, would you like to go out with me?" He turns a very amusing shade of scarlet before finding a voice to reply with.

"Of course. I'm just glad you forgave me for what my double did. I'd be honored to Aisha, just as soon as we figure out our little problem that popped up yesterday."

"Sure, thanks for saying yes. Any progress on that by the way?"

"Nothing good yet, just a few random ideas are floating around for now. I wonder if Will has come up with anything yet?"  
No offense, but he gives me the creeps. All of them do."

"Me too. He seems to be so, cold and uncaring. Like he is afraid to feel anymore. Or like he has to keep a tight check on his emotions. I am curious as to how he wound up Green though. Anyway, we should get going. I have a two-hour biology lab, and then I'm done for the day. Would you like to take a walk in the park after school, until we need to meet the others?"

"Sure, I'll meet you by your locker at the end of 7th. Later Billy."

"Fare thee well milady Aisha."

They part ways, until the end of 7th period. Their alternates however, are not having such a routine day.

William is attempting to get some parts for the laptop he brought with him, and he runs into Billy's father, who is shocked at what he thinks that he has done to himself. Great, what I do not need, his father is gonna have a heart attack when he sees me, and thinks I'm Billy'

Lance Cranston does exactly what William assumes he would do and freaks out when he confronts the young man he assumes is his son.

"What the hell have you done to yourself!"

"I don't know who you think I am, but I suggest you back off old man "

"William Jason Cranston, this is not funny! Did you just call me old man? Did you seem to forget that I am your father! What the hell have you done to yourself! Did you think that you would get back at me by doing this?"  
"I can assure you that I am not William Cranston. I'm called David, but you can call me trouble if you don't get away from me old man..." He says this with a snarl, and gets into a defensive position ready to back hand Lance. Lance turns away and stalks off, more pissed off than he could have imagined he could be at his son.

William turns and heads to the laptop section of Micro Center and is cursing himself for not factoring in that he could have run into people who knew Billy, let alone his father. But then, the question would be why isn't he at work right now?'

Lance is just dumbfounded, he knows that this guy has to be his son; after all didn't Billy tell him that the clone was killed or left? If that wasn't the clone, William was going to get more than a talk this time around. He couldn't believe that his son would have called him old man? If that was the clone, William would be off the hook, but he still had to deal with the issue at hand.

The fact that he had royally screwed up in keeping the fact that Alex was Billy's twin rather than his look-alike' cousin from him until last weekend, and the way he told Billy and Alex didn't make it any easier either. Regardless, he needed to get back to work before he went into hysterics then and there.

Meanwhile, Jason' and Rocky' are having similar problems in Stone Canyon. Even though Rocky has been a student at AGHS for about four months, he still has plenty of friends in Stone Canyon. This proves to be a problem, when they try to have lunch at a local eatery.

A friend of Rocky's, who is now out of high school, recognizes his friend, and wondering why he is so far from AGHS, and who is the guy he has with him. He stops short when he realizes that Rocky' is looking dramatically different from when he last saw him.

"Uh, hi Rocky. How have you been?"

"I'm sorry, I think you have mistaken me for someone you know."

"But, you look exactly like a guy I went to high school with. Sorry to have bothered you."

"It's alright."

They finish having lunch and head back to the hotel. Once Jason enters their room, he finds Will' tinkering with the laptop and muttering at it. He just sits on the bed knowing better than to disturb Will' when he is working. Will' eventually looks up at him, and mumbles "Hey"

"Hey yourself, what are you doing to the laptop?"

"Nothing, just trying to fine tune it for what I need later. How was your day?"

"Ok, except we ran into a guy that knows this Rocky. But he bought it when Rock said he was mistaken. Good thing, cause it seems that he has been in a shitty mood since last night."

"I ran into Billy's dad in Micro Center. He just kept going on about how I did this to get back at him. I did a bad thing though. I called him old man and then stalked off. He was freaking me out a little bit. Maybe I should ask Billy what the hell is going on with him, before I make it any worse by saying or doing something else wrong. Anyway, what time is it? We should leave soon."

"I have 1600 hours. C'mon, we can take a walk in the park before the others get there. Especially since you tossed me out last night."

Will gives him a searing look before replying; knowing that he refused for sound reasons, not just to be an asshole.

"Don't start with me Jason. Would you have preferred a fistfight versus a gentle plea? I wasn't in the mood and if you had forced me, it would have been bad all around. Let's go, tell Rock where to meet us, or is this private time for us?"

"I'd prefer to talk you alone. I'll tell Rock where to meet us, be back in a second."

"Sure, I need to pack up the laptop, take your time." Jason goes off to tell Rock where to meet them and they teleport into the park, in a secluded section that the Rangers would use frequently. Will starts to head in the general direction of the meeting place, but Jason' pulls him back to where they are, indicating that they should sit in the grass.

"What are you up to? You know that being out is nowhere near as accepted here as in our reality. Besides, I think both Jason and Billy would freak if they knew that we are lovers in our reality. I'd rather not draw anymore attention to ourselves than necessary."

"You can read minds, and you know what I am feeling most of the time, so tell me what I am up to."

"I, I'd rather not..." but seeing the look that Jason' has on his face stops him. "Very well. You are confused by my usual lack of affection, and you are concerned with my mental state, much more than usual. Also, you are worried that my lack of open affection means I don't love you as much as I do. God, you couldn't be more wrong about the last part Jase. You mean the world to me. You know that. As a low-level psionic, you should be aware of that. I'm scared now, more scared than when I lost my Mom, worse even than when Dad disowned me, when he caught us.

I may be in charge, but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to be scared sometimes. And this is THE WORST situation we have had to deal with. We're down to the bare bones, and it is looking pretty damn grim now. All we have is each other and Rocko. He is falling apart, but he doesn't hide it the way we do. Lets just do what we can to get back and set things in order. Don't ever think I am falling out of love with you, you are my all Jason', I would end the moment you stopped loving me, if it ever were to happen."

Jason' is taken aback at his honesty. It's one of the rare times Will has ever opened up and told him how he felt. He knows how much he is loved, but it would be good to hear on occasion. Jason' knows all too well that Will' has to keep his emotions in check, so that he doesn't lose control of the powers that he discovered after his ill fated fight with their Tommy.

"Ok, can we just sit and talk then? At least until Rock gets here."

"Sure. Damn there are Billy and Aisha. Hmm, that's good. He finally said something to her, and she owned up to liking him. Should I tell him about his abilities?"

"If you'd like. He may laugh at you though. He is more scientifically grounded than you are. He more than likely will think you are off your rocker."  
"He probably thinks that anyway. I saw the mental image he had when I said I paralyzed Tommy."

"Speaking of which, Tommy has been avoiding us since we showed up. He was really freaked out when we teleported in."

"Whatever, Tommy Oliver is the last person who would grace my thoughts in any dimension. He's a weakling; they just haven't seen it yet. He will have to deal with me anyway, if we are forced to work together on our problem. But no more talk of him, here comes a couple of friends." Will looks up to see Aisha and Billy approaching. He can tell from Aisha's body language alone that she doesn't like him, let alone wants to be near him.

"Hey, where is Rocko?" Billy asks, wondering why Jason' is sitting so close to Will and seems to be sizing him up, or maybe he's just comparing us. Will answers him, picking up on the tension in his lover, not really liking it, but unable to do anything about it at the moment.

"He will be joining us shortly. How are you feeling Billy?"

"A little better thanks. What about you? You are really wound up. I can tell that from the way you're standing."

"I'm doing as well as can be expected considering the circumstances. Say can we chat, privately until the others arrive. I want to know what's going on around here." The way he says this can only be taken, as "I want to know what is going on with you."

"Sure, lets take a walk to the lake. We'll be back shortly." They head off towards the lake, leaving Jase' and Aisha alone to talk or ignore each other. While Aisha and Jason' sit in awkward silence for a while, Billy and William find a grassy spot near the beach to talk. This uneasy silence doesn't last too long once Aisha decides she has had enough and stalks off in search of Billy. She refuses to have this moment spoiled by a look-alike that seems to be psycho. Jason just sighs in exasperation and lies back in the grass. He knows that both Will and Billy need to talk. He seems to be a bit more understanding of his mate's needs.

Aisha comes back in a short while, having been chased off by Billy. "Let me have this time, please. I promise you a very, very special evening soon as we can. Just let me have this time for now." Aisha huffs, and kicks the dirt. "But I don't trust him. What if he tries to hurt you?"

"I think I can take care of him if need be. I'll be ok. I don't trust him either, but I don't think he would hurt me. Not yet at least, I'll be back soon. Try to talk to Jason. He may not be all that bad." With that he gives her a warm smile and then heads back toward where Will is waiting impatiently for him.

"She doesn't trust me does she?"

"No. I really don't either, but I have the feeling that you won't harm me, at least for now. Lets hope that my assumption isn't false. Now where were we?" He just stares at the ground waiting for Will to do or say something.

"What is going on with you Billy? I ran into your dad and he almost had a heart attack when he saw me. I told him off without knowing what the situation is; I should have kept my mouth shut. I probably just made it worse for you."

"We don't have enough time in the world for that Will. Long story short: Dad has been lying to me about several things. One, my look-alike cousin Alex is actually my twin. Two: dad has gotten remarried, and neglected to mention that minor little fact. Three, My half sister is now back in town, and she hates me more than I hate her. All of this was presented to Alex, Shanna, his new wife and me after dinner at the Marriott Hilton last Friday night. The worst part was, he honestly expected me to just fucking grin and bear it, since what's done is done, right?"

"I, um. Damn. That's about all I can say Billy. At least he hasn't disowned you." (Damn, I really didn't want that to slip out!) He looks down at the patch of grass at his feet, which had suddenly become fascinating. It's a good thing Billy can't pick up on Will's thoughts. He would die of embarrassment at the replay of him and Jason getting caught by his father.

"What are you talking about Will? What could you have done that he would disown you for?"

"I'd rather not talk about it Billy. I don't think you would want to know anyway." He is looking anywhere but at his alternate self, ready to run off and hide. He hates to let his guard down, and he really didn't mean for that to slip out. He can see all manner of bad scenes that Billy is running around in that agile mind in an effort to figure out what he had done to get disowned. He can't hold back a yelp of surprise when he hits on what happened, sort of in his mind.

"Billy! I did not do anything like that. Man even I have limits you know."

"I am so confused. You said that like you could tell what I was thinking. Oh God, you can tell what I'm thinking, can't you?"

"Yes. I am telepathic William. It took a traumatic event to trigger the ability I have. I can also use telekinesis, but that isn't as strong as my telepathy. You are too, but you're too stubborn to accept the fact that people can have such strong mental abilities."

Billy can't really speak; he is in shock at what Will had just said. There is no way he could be telepathic it just wasn't possible. Then, he hears his/Will's voice mentally. He looks at his double, to be certain that he isn't actually speaking to him. "I've finally gone mad. This is all some delusion I'm having. I must have done something drastic after dad dropped all those bombs on me last Friday."

Nope, you are not delusional. You are hearing me in your head. Did you think you could make up something this crazy William? Accept the gift that you have and learn to use it. The only problem I have is when my emotions get out of control I can't control my abilities.

"Fine, now get out of my head. I don't like it, it's really creepy to hear your own voice, and realize it's not you who's doing the thinking. Talk to me Will, how am I supposed to use these abilities? Do I need any more trauma in my life to unleash them?"

"I think what you have gone through recently would certainly qualify. If I weren't already certifiable, I'd say that would push me over the edge."

Will picks up on the mental picture Billy has in regard to his fight with Tommy. Will is slightly disturbed by the emotions he is getting from Billy in relation to his hatred of Tommy in his reality.

"Stop thinking like that; I just couldn't stand his condescending attitude any longer. That's why I snapped and broke his spine like a piece of kindling. My time as the evil Green Ranger taught me a few things."

"Fine, I just don't like the idea that you actually harmed Tommy and enjoyed it. Now it's your turn. How did you become the Green Ranger? I still want to know what caused you to get disowned too, I didn't forget about it."

"Damn. Well, in my reality Zordon didn't pick me as the Blue ranger. He picked Tommy instead, hoping to forestall some prophecy of an evil green ranger. However, he hadn't counted on me being so damn bitter and unhappy at home. I needed very little encouragement from Rita to get back at them. Especially Tommy that muscle head was the worst one. He all but shouted it from the rooftops that they were rangers. In addition, they started to cut me out of things. I was no longer welcome for certain activities.

Eventually, I hacked into the school's system and changed my classes. I didn't want to be anywhere near them. Jason was the one who broke the spell on me. He saved me from myself in every sense of the word. I owe him everything. I also killed Goldar, as he was about to run Jase through with his sword; I ran him through with the sword of Darkness. I passed out from shock afterward.

Breaking the spell was the beginning of the end for a while though. I needed a break from everyone. Little did I know the real reasons for my unhappiness were just the beginning of my problems? But that is not important now. What is important is that we figure out what the hell we are gonna do to survive."

"I know have you had any thoughts about it?"

"Not really. I can't seem to come up with anything feasible"

"Well, it occurred to me when Dulcea granted us the Ninjetti powers, she said all things are possible with the Great Power. She also told us that these powers are based upon our spirit animals.

So if they are linked in that way, we shouldn't theoretically be able to lose these powers. And if that is the case, then we should be able to retain them. As for the Zords, I'm not sure what could be done. I would have to consult Dulcea about it."

"I see. I hope that is the case. Well let's say we make plans for a trip to Phaedos?"

Billy grins, and hops up to Will's surprise. He is smiling in a mischievous way at William. "I'd say that a trip to Phaedos is just what the doctor ordered. And not just for you three either. Jason never quested for the great power."

William is looking thoughtful, wondering if that will screw things up. "Are you sure that both Jason's being there won't screw things up?"

Billy looks off in the direction where he sent Aisha packing.

"I don't know Will, but if Jase is game I think it will be ok. I might come along for the ride as well. I need a break shall we say" As he finishes, he merely smirks and waits for Will to follow him back to where the others are gathered.

"Billy, don't you think that Tommy will flip when you suggest going with us to Phaedos?"

"Yeah, and you should also have a guide. We sure could have used one when we were there. Getting chased by dinosaur bones that have come back to life was not my idea of fun. So, what did you do that go you disowned?"

"Blunt till the very end eh? Well, if I tell you. You might freak out."  
"Why do you think I would freak? Did you kill someone or commit some crime? Dad is so laid back, I can't imagine what could get him so pissed off to go to that extent."

"He caught Jason and I in bed together, and he threw me out and sent me the papers to disown me a week later. There, you happy that you know?"

Billy has stopped walking and is staring at Will's back, simply dumbfounded at what he's just been told. "You're joking. Jase and I are only friends."

"Correction, in this reality that's all you and Jason are to each other. However, in MY reality he is my boyfriend. I've gained and lost a lot to say that with pride and you will not make me feel ashamed of it. I can't help it if this reality still has a way to go before civil rights include everyone. Now let's go, the others are waiting."

"I don't want you to be ashamed Will. I'm just shocked that's all. C'mon we have a trip to plan. Forgive my bluntness."

"Done, you should really learn to open up to the others like you have with me."

"Nope, the easiest person I can open up to is me and since that is you, sort-of I can be a little more open than with the others."

The conversation is cut short as Aisha comes bounding up to Billy and glares at Will. "Well, have you two come up with a plan yet?" Billy looks at her with affection and puts a hand on her shoulder before answering.

"Yes, but it will require a trip to see a certain Master Warrior. Let's get the others at the command center and then we'll fill you in. Zordon, can you ask the others to teleport to the command center? We have a possible solution to part of the problem."

"CERTAINLY BILLY, I LOOK FORWARD HEARING THE PLAN YOU AND WILLIAM HAVE COME UP WITH."

"Sure Zordon, we'll be there in moment."

They all teleport in with Tommy and Jason hanging together in the back. Tommy is hostile towards the three Rangers, especially William. "So what great scheme did you two come up with?" Tommy says this with a sneer in his voice; Jase only rolls his eyes at how quickly this has gotten out of control in about .5 seconds.

"Tommy, at least hear them out before you start baring your fangs at anyone." Jase is trying to diffuse the situation, hoping it doesn't start an all-out battle royale between Tommy and the other William.

"Tommy, we have come up with the idea of them going to Phaedos, with a couple of additional members to the party for good measure."

"No, we will NOT send any of our rangers with them! We probably can't trust them as far as we can throw them. Next idea, smart ass?"

Billy is getting really annoyed at this, and Will is ready to roundhouse Tommy into the console he is standing in front of. "Look Oliver, this is the plan, hear him out at least before you go into selfish leader mode and veto it out of hand." William is right behind Billy, ready to start a fight at the drop of a hat.

"Will control yourself. The rest of the plan is Jason can go with you guys, since he never quested for the Great Power, and I will go as a chaperone if Zordon will allow it. Now if that isn't good enough Tommy, I'm sorry. It's all we could come up with, and it is really the only solution for us and them unless you can come up with a better plan, Thomas."

After he is done, Billy crosses his arms and leans against the wall, daring Tommy to oppose his idea, and also to see him squirm a little bit. The attack on Will was unwarranted and he's not too happy about being called a smart-ass either. "Zordon, despite Tommy's protests, that is the only course of action we could come up with, short of sending them home empty handed."

"I SEE BILLY. VERY WELL, GIVE ME SOME TIME TO THINK ABOUT THIS IDEA. IT WILL BE RISKY AND LEAVE US A RANGER SHORT FOR AN UNKOWN AMOUNT OF TIME. PLEASE RETURN HERE IN A HALF-HOURS' TIME, I WILL HAVE AN ANSWER FOR YOU THEN."

"Thanks Zordon." Billy turns his gaze on Tommy who is scowling at William. William is on his way over to Tommy. He notes with some amusement that both Jason's intercept Will and Tommy from clashing. He is not too amused however at Tommy's open hostility to both Will and himself.

"Tommy, can we talk alone please?" Billy is behind William, grabbing his arm and pulling him off to the side. "Look Will, I will not tolerate a brawl between you and anyone here, do you understand me? I don't care how much you hate the Tommy of your world; this one is our friend and leader. No fighting amongst Rangers, part of the code."

Will is not really listening, he is only glaring at Tommy wanting only to get a little closer so he can wrap his hands around that ponytail and break his neck. "Fine. Just keep him away from me, otherwise I will not be responsible for my actions should he continue to piss me off. I am their leader and if I determine he is a threat, I will eliminate him."

Tommy just snickers at this, forgetting for a moment that this guy isn't the Billy he knows. Billy is really ticked off however at Tommy's arrogance and bad attitude. He snarls at Tommy in a very uncharacteristic way; "Thomas Oliver shut up now before I get really pissed off. We are going to talk now, alone or he can have you all to himself." He just walks over and grabs Tommy's arm, teleporting them to his room at house. "Now do you mind explaining your sudden change of attitude? Did I do something to piss you off?"

Tommy looks at him, wondering if he should just say what is on his mind. About how this other Billy became the Green Ranger and apparently is a little bit psycho to boot. "Look, he is nuts, I don't trust him at all. He is just dying to fight me, and I want him to try. He said he paralyzed me!"

Billy just grunts in exasperation at the way things are going. "Look, he did that to the Tommy in HIS reality, not you. Why are you taking it so personally? I just want to help them, so they can go home. Why are you being such a jackass? You're being mean to me, and I haven't done anything to you that I know of. What is it?

"I told you, this just doesn't seem right. I don't want you or Jason going anywhere with them, out of concern as your team leader. That's all."

"Right Tommy. I'm not all that dense you know. If Zordon ok's the plan I am going, that's final. Be mad at me, hate me for all I care; but I will not refuse to help another Ranger that is in need of help. Put your personal feelings aside and look at what could happen if they fail! Could you live with your self if you knew that not helping them could mean their deaths, or their reality could be destroyed? I'm surprised at you Thomas, and wounded that you would treat ANY other Ranger so poorly out of spite for the actions in another timeline."

As he finishes and leans against the desk, their communicators go off in unison. "Yes Zordon, Tommy here, what's going on?"

"TOMMY I HAVE MADE MY DECISION, PLEASE RETURN TO THE COMMAND CENTER."

"As you wish Zordon." As he finishes he looks at Billy and promises to finish later. "Billy, we can finish this discussion later, now we have something more important than this to deal with."

"Very well, my leader." Billy says this with a venomous tone to his voice and teleports off without another word. When Tommy arrives a moment later, he notices that Billy is with the other Rangers, glaring at him.

"RANGERS, I HAVE MADE A DECISION. ALTHOUGH I AM INCLINED TO AGREE WITH TOMMY ABOUT THE DANGER OF THIS PLAN, I CANNOT REFUSE TO HELP ANY WARRIOR OF LIGHT WHO ASKS FOR ASSISTANCE.

JASON, YOU ARE FREE TO ACCOMPANY THEM TO PHAEDOS IF YOU WISH TO QUEST FOR THE GREAT POWER. BILLY, I AM ENTRUSTING YOU TO WATCH OVER EVERYONE, TO INSURE THAT NO CONFLICT ARISES WHILE YOU ALL ARE GONE."

"As you command Zordon, I will make sure that we all return safely home. Jase, are you ok with this?"

Jason looks at Billy and at William before answering, although he can't quite figure what is going on with everyone now, he agrees. "I'm fine with it Billy, but be aware that if I think anything odd is going on, or if circumstances demand it, I will take command back. Are you ok with that possibility?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Not really. I just want to go into this with no false assumptions. When do we leave?"

"We should make arrangements for myself and you to be gone awhile. My present situation doesn't allow much room for covering my tracks. As it is, dad is probably at the resort waiting for me."

"How about the old stand by of a camping trip?" Adam suggests. He is not at all thrilled with Billy's suggestion of going with them, but he knows that once Billy has made up his mind to do something, it's practically impossible to change it.

"It might work. Well let's meet here at 9:00 am tomorrow. If we are ready to go, then we go. If the old stand by excuse doesn't work, then we will have to think of a plan B. does everyone agree?"

All parties involved nod their agreement, with Billy having turned his back to the others to check some calculations. The other Jase' knows that signals he is done with them and takes the hint for them to make themselves scarce.

"Um, Billy we're leaving now. You know where to find us if you need us. See you in the morning." Jason' says this and then goes to stand by Rocky and William. William doesn't speak; he just sends Billy a telepathic message. Come talk to me if you need to. I promise I will try to behave, but I make no promises.

Stop that, it gives me the creeps William. We will have plenty of time to talk on Phaedos. Now go get some rest, believe me you will need it. With that, Billy teleports out to his uncles resort, and as he expected his father is waiting for him.

He is decidedly unhappy about having to confront his father, especially since he knows it will probably end in a nasty argument. Might as well get this over with now.' "Hello father, what brings you here?"

Lance almost falls off of his chair when he sees Billy. This is not the same person he saw earlier. But he should know his own son. This can't be right. I know I saw him earlier, but there is no way he could be hiding that tattoo or have such a different haircut in a few hours. "Um William, were you in school all day today?"

"Yes father, I was. You should know that I don't cut class. Why do you ask this of all things, considering the current situation?"

"No reason, I just happened to run into a boy who looked like he could be your..." Lance starts, but he is cut of by Billy who really does not want to deal with the situation or his father...

"Twin? I thought we did that already, no wait I was the one who didn't know about Alex being my brother and not my cousin. How silly of me to have forgotten. Now what is it father, I am not in the mood for anymore family secrets to be dropped on me. I was dead serious when I said I needed a break for a while. Did you honestly expect me to not be angry or hurt at what you did to me? Did you really think I would just play the good little son and grin and bear it this time? I really can't express what I feel right now. Better yet, let me tell you what I am not feeling. I do not feel the love or trust that I had for you as my father, I do not feel the camaraderie of family that I should when I look at Alexander. What I really would love to do is slap you, scream at you, jump up and down in rage at how I have been getting played for a fool by my own father and family for my whole life!"

When he finishes, he is near tears of anger, and humiliation. He stares his father down, waiting for something more from Lance, some comment, some opening that will allow him to tear into him without remorse. He just wants to make Lance hurt the way he is now. "Well, what now father, anything else you're hiding from me?"

"No, nothing else William. I just want you to come home. Please let's just talk about this at home, in private. I'm sure you're aunt and uncle doesn't want to get dragged into this. This is between us."

Billy rolls his eyes at his father, snorting in disgust before he answers..."No, this is a family matter. They are family, in fact they are the only family members I want to set eyes on for a really long time Lance. The guys are planning a road trip this weekend. I plan to go, maybe if I am calmed down enough when I return, we can try to talk."

Lance is angry, while he can't make Billy come home, he knows that forcing his stubborn offspring will make the situation ten times worse. "Fine, you win this round William. Have fun on the trip, be careful and remember that I am sorry for what has happened. I'll see you when you get back?"

"Maybe. I don't want this to be a battle father, but think about what you did, and how you would feel in my place. I'll call you when we get back. Since it's a long weekend off from school we should get back at some time Monday." Billy goes to the kitchen table, making a point of ignoring his father just to annoy Lance.

"Ok. I'll be at home if you need anything." With that Lance goes to his brothers' office and shuts the door. Erinn goes over to Billy and hands him a cup of tea, not saying a word. A short time later Lance leaves, and David hands Billy an envelope with his name on it.

"Your father asked that you read this sometime over the weekend, there is also some cash just in case you were running low. William, I know it's going to be hard to get past this, but you need your father and he is unbelievably sorry for what he has done. Give him a chance to talk to you, then rant and rave all you need to. This will work out in the end. I know it."

David then leaves Billy in the den of the cabin he's staying at to mull over his options. Billy tosses the envelope on the nightstand and heads to the bathroom for a shower. Fortunately, Jason's parents buy the road trip excuse, allowing the first phase of their plan to get off the ground.


	2. Phaedos bound?

Everyone meets at the Command center the next morning, 9 am sharp. William, Jase and Rocko have been there since 8, conferring with Billy and Zordon on last minute details. Once everyone is there. Billy turns to face the group and fills them in on the plan.

"Ok, as most of you know Phaedos is a dangerous place, most dangerous of all being Dulcea, Master Warrior and Guardian of the planet Phaedos. Jason, Jason', William and Rocky' will quest for the Great Power. I will consult with Dulcea to see what we can do in the case of their Zords. I also realize that having a Ranger gone for some time will be a detriment to the team.

Also, in case Zedd attacks while we are gone, I have installed a recall function on my communicator and morpher. This is to be used only in an extreme emergency. Should you find yourselves in a situation that demands my presence, feel free to use the recall function. Tommy I know that you are not happy with this, but I stand by my decision. Should anything happen to me, I take all responsibility for being bull headed. Now with all of that said, we should go. Any final remarks?"

No one says anything, except Adam just goes up to Billy and hugs him. Billy just arches an eyebrow, wondering what that was about. "I'll explain when you get back Billy. Safe journey to you."

Billy says nothing, only clasping Adam's arm in the classic warrior fashion, smiling at him. "I'll be back for that explanation soon Park, take care of them will you?"

"Will do." Adam answers, finding himself worried more than usual about his friend...wondering if he would be as concerned if Billy knew the real reason behind Adam's distress.

"RANGERS, ARE YOU READY TO DEPART?"

Jason' steps up ready to begin the quest. "Yes Zordon, we are ready to depart."

"GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU, AND MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU."

They all teleport out in various beams of light to Phaedos. Tommy says nothing, merely teleporting back home. He is not in the mood to deal with the implications of what could happen on Phaedos or with the sudden change in Billy's attitude.

The others arrive at Phaedos with no problems; they are all awed at its majestic beauty, even Billy who had been there scant months before. Rocky is kneeling by the skeleton that the others found up their arrival last time. "Hey Billy, any idea what happened to this guy?"

"No, it's probably the same one we saw our first time here." We should get going, Dulcea will probably sense us anyway and meet us en route."

"Why don't you morph? Wouldn't it be easier to meet her in your Ninjetti uniform?" Jason asks, still in awe of the greenery they are in the midst of.

Billy negates the suggestion with a shake of his head, looking back briefly to answer 'Jason'. "I don't know if that is such a wise idea, considering that she might think Will is an imposter. It's not like we phoned ahead and said we and our alternate reality selves were dropping in for a visit."

'Jason' nods, agreeing with his lover's mirror image. "I see your point Billy. What is Dulcea like?"

"Dulcea is a deadly warrior, and very straightforward. She had Tommy flat on his back in about 30 seconds. I'd watch out for her staff by the way." Billy tilts his head to the east slightly, sensing Dulcea's presence near to their location. "She is heading towards us by the way."

"How can you tell that?" 'Rocky' isn't too sure about the whole mystic Ninjetti thing, and the fact that Billy is able to sense' Dulcea doesn't sit too well with him. He is uneasy enough with Will being telepathic and telekinetic.

Billy answers him, being slightly annoyed at this version of his fun loving teammate's skepticism. "I think being back here is strengthening my Ninjetti abilities. She is Ninjetti as well, I can just sense her presence." As if on cue, she drops down behind Billy but points her staff straight at the two Jason's, Rocky and William.

"Greetings William. What brings you back to Phaedos, and who are these humans who look alike?" When she notices Will, she does a double take, wondering what exactly is going on with her Wolf. "I did not know you had a sibling William."

Sighing in exasperation, Billy answers Dulcea, wishing that he didn't know the truth about his family secrets. "Neither did I until recently Dulcea, however he is not my brother. William, Rocky and Jason are rangers from another timeline.

Their world is under the siege of the Machine Empire. Questing for the Great Power is their only hope for saving their world. This Jason Scott (points to the left of himself) is our original leader.

He is currently on break from the peace conference he is participating in, in Switzerland. He has joined the party to quest as well. We ask your leave to do so. I would like to take counsel with you to work out a problem I am having in regard to the Zords that they would use after the quest. Will you allow them to quest Master Warrior Dulcea?"

Billy is down on one knee while addressing her, mindful of the fact that she could whomp him in no time flat. Also he is deferring to her position as sole guardian of the planet. She considers them for a moment and comes up to Will, peering at him closely. He steps back a bit, not liking her scrutiny.

"William, they will be allowed to quest. However this William has some darkness within him. His quest will be a little more difficult than the others. I know not what tests you shall face on the way to the Monolith, but be aware that they are designed to ensure that anyone who holds the great Power is indeed worthy of the honor. Come, we must discover your spirit animals."

She heads off towards the Ninjetti Temple, with everyone in tow. William is quiet, processing what Dulcea said about him. What darkness is she taking about. I was healed when Jason broke Rita's spell on me. I have been good for the most part, except for that whole Tommy thing.' His thoughts are interrupted when Billy stops him.

"We're here. Stand around the fire and do exactly as Dulcea tells you." He leaves them and morphs into his Ninjetti uniform, and stands with Dulcea. He is anxious to see what Williams's spirit animal is. I wonder if he will be a wolf as well?' Dulcea proclaiming their animal guides breaks him from his reverie. She has started with his Jason, who seems a bit discomfited by the whole thing.

"All of you open your eyes and see what animal spirit has accepted you. "Jason, the Lion is your guardian spirit. Fierce and Loyal, you are the majestic Lion", and he is garbed in a tawny-golden hued Ninjetti uniform. Next up is Rocky. He is uncomfortable as well when Dulcea tells him "That the noble Eagle is your guide. Sharp eyed and swift as the wind, you are the Snowy Eagle." He is now in a Ninjetti uniform of the purist white, with golden markings.

Next is the other Jason; who is proclaimed "fleet of foot and full of spirit, with the Cheetah as your guide." He finds himself in an ebony uniform, with grayish markings, to blend in with the jungle that a cheetah would be at home in. Finally, the other William is facing Dulcea. He seems torn as to how he should interpret his animal guide.

"What's the matter William? You seem perplexed."

"It's alright Dulcea, I just don't know what to make of my animal spirit."

"William, full of stealth, cunning and intellect, you are the Panther deadly and silent." As she finishes, William finds that he is garbed in the darkest black with deep green highlights on the cuffs and shoulders. He removes the facemask, and smiles at the others. For some reason, the animal that chose him pleases him the more he thinks about it. Both Jason's ask Dulcea what should they do now.

"You will rest, and when morning comes, you four shall head towards the Monolith. William will meet you there once you have completed your quest. There is food and drink in the temple when you are ready to replenish your selves. William when the others have departed, we may discuss your problem. Sleep well, you will need it for the quest."

With that, Dulcea changes into a snowy Owl and flies off for the night, leaving the boys in awkward silence. Billy sits near the fire and closes his eyes. The long teleport and the hard climb to the temple are taking its toll in him. William comes over and sits next to him, they don't say much; just watch Jason, Rocky and Jason spar.

"Are you surprised that my spirit guide isn't a Wolf as well?"

"Yes, I suppose. I guess I expected it to be different; then again I'm not 100 percent sure about this whole mystic Ninjetti thing either. I am a man of science, not myth William."

"I know. Say would you like to spar? I need a workout and Jase has his hands full at the moment."

Billy looks at him warily, not sure if he should take William up on his offer. "Sure, why not. Just remember that you will need to rest for tomorrow. The quest is demanding on the body and your senses, I would not take this lightly."

"I know, I could tell that when you deferred to her. What style of martial arts do you know?"

"Karate, Jason and Rocky have been my sensei. Adam has started to teach me Kung Fu, but I'm not very good at it yet. What about you?"

"Karate and Shaolin style Kung fu. Adam is also my sifu, and Jase is my sensei naturally. Since Karate is more familiar to you, let's use that style for sparring, OK?"

"Fine with me."

Billy gets into the beginning stance and waits for his opponent to bow to him as well. Once they begin, it's obvious that William is the more dedicated Karate student of the two young men. However, in Billy there is a tenacity and blockheaded refusal to give up the match. William gives him a little nod of respect for his tenacity and sense of honor. He also realizes that Billy is trying a tactic that he would use when he was an intermediate student. Billy is going in for small feints here and there in an attempt to throw William off-guard and to get in a few hits when he isn't looking for them.

Rocky and both Jason's are watching them spar, and the Jason from Billy's reality is getting a little concerned with how the match is going. Billy is obviously outmatched, but he is refusing to surrender. "Billy, call time... this has gone on long enough."

"No, I refuse to give in. I want him to beat me fair and square. I am a little better than this, he is just getting in some good shots."

"Good shots Billy? I think you are just bull headed. Let's stop this now, before we are both too tired to get anything done tomorrow."

"No William, I will continue, I never give up even if it means I will lose. Either you call a draw or we finish this with a decision."

"Fine, I call a draw match, I need my strength and you are just being impossible Billy. Stop it now. Let's all of us get some sleep and we can talk more later."

He stops the match and walks over to his Jason and pulls him off to a little secluded alcove he spotted earlier for a private place to sleep. He is bothered by Billy's insistence at continuing the match even as he was so obviously out matched. He just snuggles a little closer to Jason and sighs. Jason wraps himself around William and kisses him on his forehead and tightens his grip on his lover.

"What's the matter hon? You said so much with that little sigh just now. You seem as if the world is resting on your shoulders..."

"I feel as if the world is resting on my shoulders. We are about to embark on a dangerous journey; we have no idea if we can even get home. Hell for all we know our world could be dust by now. I'm just nervous. The fact that Billy wouldn't give up the match is bothering me a little. He is a stubborn little cuss."

"Gee like someone else I know. Relax he probably has a very good reason for his behavior. If you two are anything alike, then he is taxing himself to the limit trying to come with a solution. It's probably tearing him up that he can't just make it ok with the flip of a switch."

Billy just rubs his hands over Jason's arms and puts his chin on his knees. He wants their problem to be solved, and to not be in this reality... All he wants is to be in the apartment they shared, getting ready for bed and some fun once they have turned out the lights. He is broken out of the daydream by Jason kissing the back of his neck, and whispering in his ear. "William, let me make love to you now, just in case it turns out to be the last time we have together."

"Please don't say that Jase... I can't stand the idea of there being a last time for us. Lets go a little deeper into the jungle, I don't want them to hear me..." He rises and holds out his hand for Jason to grasp and follow his lover deeper into the lush jungle of Phaedos. They go for about 15 minutes into the foliage and then clear out an area to lay down in, William pulls Jason to him for a kiss that would level a small city with it's heat and intensity. Jason is thrilled at his lover's enthusiastic response to his request. Soon even that thought leaves his mind as he feels his Ninjetti uniform being removed from his body.

" God you are magnificent... every time we make love I thank whatever deity allowed you to be my love. What do you want Jase? I want to give you all the pleasure I can, and then some." William's voice is husky, filled with lust and desire for his boyfriend. His eyes have darkened to a deep emerald green in his passion, Jason notices the change in his lover and takes pride in the fact that he can cause such a difference in William. "I want you to take me in your mouth and worship me, to bring me off like you do so very well William... do me please..."

He can no longer talk as he feels William take him all in one gulp, and then starts to piston his head up and down in a hard way that has Jason so close to le petit mal or little death as the French have been known to call an orgasm. "Damn, stop mmmmm, Will I can't stand it anymore, please make me come with that talented mouth of yours..."

Jason only knows a moment of blinding heat and passion as he shoots off in Will's eager mouth. Once he is spent, Jason pulls out and brings Will down to him on the ground. He merely holds Will and nuzzles his neck for a little while. Will allows himself to be held by the one he loves, and revels in the feel of Jason's sweaty body under his, he thinks distractedly that Jase's smooth, hard body feels like silk over steel. He squirms a little bit to let Jase know of his need for release. He would love to get fucked senseless on the jungle floor, but he is willing to take whatever pleasure Jason is willing to give him at the moment.

"William, what would you like from me?" Jase asks this, knowing full well William would love nothing more than to be tossed down on the jungle floor and ravaged until he is screaming Jason's name over and over. He looks deep into Will's eyes and seeing the lust in them decides to give him what he wants. He pulls Will off of him and turns him on his back on the ground. He decides to take his time, kissing and licking Will all over his body.

William is making small supplicating noises, urging his lover on to what he is craving. Jason is going to give him what he wants, just at his own pace. When he thinks that Will can't take any more, Jase takes him into his mouth, sucking slowly to torture his lover. Will tries to grab Jase's head and make him go faster, slower do anything to end the sweet state of agony he is in now. "Jason, baby please take me... I can't take it when you do that to me."

Jason merely snickers and stops teasing Will and turns him over on all fours, "You do realize we don't have any lubrication... this could hurt you Will."

"I'll get you as ready as I can. I asked for this so if it hurts a little bit, I'll survive." He says nothing further as he takes Jason into his mouth again; getting his cock as wet as possible before he turns around and waits for Jason to take him. Jason takes it slow as he can, while being as gentle as possible as to not hurt Will. He finds it almost impossible to be gentle once he is inside Will and the tight grip of his ass on his cock is maddening.

"J...Jason don't worry about being careful just take me over the edge" That is about all Will can manage coherently as he pushes against Jason who is holding still in an effort to control himself. He leers at Will before deciding to ram him senseless. "The gentleman shall get what the gentleman desires." He starts pummeling Will full force, being rewarded with his name being screamed over and over until he comes hard in his lover, with Will following suit in a few moments. They disentangle themselves gently and sit on the ground panting and trying to breathe normally. "How about we find that river we saw earlier and get cleaned up?"

Will is just lying on the ground silent and thoughtful. He is glad that they had such a great session of fucking but he is a little sore, and worried that the others may have heard him. "Yeah, a swim would be good now, I just need another moment to gather myself." Jason says nothing else; he just picks up Will and carries him to the river. They hop in and swim for a while until Will realizes that they are being watched.

"I was wondering when you would show up." He has looked up to see Billy standing there with a confused look on his face, like he wants to join in the swim, but he is uncertain about stripping and hopping into the river. Will grins and decides to have a little fun with his alternate self. He grabs Billy's ankle and starts to pull him towards the water... "Hey cut that out!"

"Only if you come in willingly Billy, otherwise you're getting dunked Ninjetti suit and all. You're choice to be yanked in or not." Will just keeps tugging on Billy with a silly grin on his face... "Ok, ok let me go. You win." Billy demorphs and then strips out of his civilian clothes, and jumps in. He swims slowly around Jason and William feeling like a piece of meat as they check him out. He goes up to Jason and looks him over just as frankly as he is being appraised by the alternate version of his best friend.

"So how do we compare? You are staring at me like I'm a piece of meat on the block. Sorry that I'm not pierced and tattooed, it's not my style."

Jason is a little embarrassed to be called on his frank comparison of his William and Billy. "Well, you two are built about the same. William is a little stockier than you. I'd say you work out strictly for health reasons, not for building mass. You have a gymnast's build...but Will has a football players build. He's thick in all the right places. What about me? You were comparing me to your Jason earlier."

"There isn't that much of a difference, other than the hair and tattoo you have. It seems as if Jase would be similar in any reality." As they have been talking, Will has been getting closer to his Jason and is now beside him gripping his hand under the water. He has been staring at Billy, wondering if there was any chance for him and his Jason to ever become lovers. Billy somehow picks up on that thought, and stares at him for a moment before speaking.

"As much as you may want that to happen, my Jason has no interest in me or any other male of the species. I am going to get going... the others must be wondering where I am. Have fun, but once the suns are up rejoin us at the temple." With that he leaves them, and heads back to where Rocky and Jason have been talking for a while. He comes in on the tail end of the story of how Rocky became one of them.

"...I was approached by Jason and William. They asked me to come with them, since they had something really serious and important to talk about. I was taken to the Command Center, where Zordon asked me to take my place on the team. I found out later that it was because William had paralyzed Tommy."

"Did you feel any differently about him after that?" Jason is appalled that any version of his best friend could harm anyone to that extent and have no remorse about it. He looks up as Billy just sinks to the ground next to him and listens to Rocky as well. Rocky just nods to him and continues his tale.

"At first, I hated him. I mean I didn't even know Tommy, but I thought that he could at least show some remorse about it. But after, I got to know Tommy, I understood why anyone could hate him. He became really bitter after he was hurt. Eventually the only people who could stand to be near him were Kim, Kat and Adam. Kim vowed to never to speak to Will again, and she hasn't either. Kat and Adam just take his orders but they can't stand William."

"How did the team survive after all that happened?"

"Well, Kim left and Kat took her place. Zack and Trini graduated early and were accepted at Harvard, so Aisha and Adam took their places. Jason was there from the beginning, he just deferred leadership to William when he joined us as the Green Ranger. Oh he must not have told you Jason, how he became the Green Ranger?"

"No, do I really want to know?" He glances at Billy who is sitting silently staring at the fire in front of him, wanting to hear the tale but he is afraid that it might disturb Billy to hear of his counterparts' time as an evil Ranger. Billy barely whispers in response: "Jase it's ok, I can hear it again."

"Well, how did it happen?"

Rocky looks at both Jase and Billy, realizing how dissimilar they are to his friends. "Ok, from what I know... Zordon initially picked Tommy as a ranger to offset the legacy of an evil Green Ranger showing up. What no one figured on happening is that Rita would pick Bi... I mean William as her evil Green Ranger. He was unhappy and bitter to say the least. When the others became rangers, they started cutting him out of things in an effort to protect him. It seems that Tommy only was being an asshole, being the leader was going to his head.

William always was kind of hard to like, since he closes himself off from others so easily. We did notice though that he started to wear a lot of green and that he seemed even more, mean-spirited I guess. Then the evil Green Ranger started making our lives hell. We put two and two together and had him pegged for being our enemy. Alpha confirmed it with a scan, so Tommy went after him with a vengeance.

That was the worst way to deal with William. He doesn't take well to being told what to do in case you hadn't noticed." Billy just snorts rudely at that. He knows that fault can be applied to him as well, especially recently. "I'm sorry, please continue."

"Well, to make a long story short, that caused a huge rift between Jason and Tommy. Jason was still in charge, and Tommy had also broken our code of honor by escalating the fight. Jase decided to take the humanitarian approach and work on his friend by talking to him alone. I think it worked, since he was freed from the spell soon after... Rita wasn't too happy he broke the spell on William, and ordered Goldar to smoke him. Well, Will wasn't about to let it happen, he killed Goldar with the Sword of Darkness, in doing so William saved Jason from being shredded by Goldar; and the act of saving another broke the evil spell binding him to Rita. He joined us a few days later."

"Man, that's intense. I would never peg Tommy or Billy for that kind of extreme behavior. No offense meant Billy."

"None taken." He hasn't really moved or taken his gaze off of the fire in front of him. Billy closes his eyes and puts his head down. For some reason, he feels like crying then and there... Jason notices and puts a hand on his shoulder to calm him. "Thanks Jase, maybe if I tell you what's wrong I can at least pretend I feel a little better." As he says this, he hears 'Jason' and William coming up the trail. "Well, since the gangs all here, I guess I can begin."

"Begin what?" 'Jason' asks and gets a quick elbow to the side from William. "Oh, I see. Go ahead."

Billy waits for a while before speaking; mostly to compose him self and to be able to speak without breaking down. "Well, last Friday my father took me out for what I thought was going to be a weekend spent together; kind of a father-son bonding thing. What I got however, was the worst shock of my life. He told me that my cousin Alexander was not my cousin, but really my twin. Secondly, he um... remarried a woman he didn't even tell me he was dating. He just casually mentioned that she and her kid would be moving in as well as Alexander. And for fun, my half-sister is moving back to Angel Grove. I hate her almost as much as she hates me. All of this was presented to me, Alex; Shanna and my half-sister at the Marriott Hilton last Friday. I have never felt so betrayed and angry in my life. To find out that your family is keeping secrets from you for your whole life, and that I was apparently too dense to figure it out hurts too."

No one can really speak for a moment. William can feel the anguish, and anger that Billy is projecting. He also realizes that Billy is about to bolt off from them, in need of releasing the pent up emotions he's been holding in for the last few days. He just grabs him and looks him in the eye, daring Billy to break the hold he has on him.

"William let me go, I need to be alone right now."

"No you don't Billy, that's the last thing you need now. Let us help you. I know how much you're hurting right now. Talk to Jason, let him help you. I know you don't trust me enough to talk, but he has been your friend for years."

Billy is still struggling in William's grip, and Jason comes behind them and takes over holding him. Jason hugs him and starts to stroke his hair, much in the way a mother would calm their child. He can feel Billy shaking a little and decides it may be best to take him a little ways off to let Billy vent. When he starts to head away from the campfire, Billy doesn't resist he just follows Jason mutely. Once they are away from the camp, Jase pulls them down to the ground and holds Billy in a mirror image of the embrace that their alternates shared not too long ago.

"Billy, let it out, if you want to cry go ahead. I won't think any less of you if you do." Billy only sinks his head into Jason's shoulder and finally breaks down. Jason holds him, rocking him as Billy cries out his anger into his shirt.

"Why Jase, why... h... how could he hurt me, us like that? My own father, all that I have... he has been lying to us all our lives. He let Alex think that Janice was his mother all this time, when our mother died in that robbery. He let him attend his own mother's funeral and didn't say a fucking word! He let us think we were cousins, COUSINS Jase... how can I ever trust him again? Tell me that huh? How can I trust him after this?"

"I don't know Billy, I don't know if I could in your position. The only person who has the answer to why it was hidden from you and Alex is back home. You will have to ask your father that if you want to know the truth. It could be worse than what you think, or there could be a logical explanation for it. I hope you know we are your friends and we care for you. If you need to vent or hit something, I'm always a phone call away."

Jason holds Billy quietly letting him just cry on his shoulder. After a while, when Jason doesn't hear anything from the boy in his arms he realizes that Billy has cried himself to sleep. He picks him and takes him to the camp. Once he has lain Billy down for the night, he motions the others over so that they can talk without waking Billy.

Jason', William and Rocky' are a little worried about their leader's doppelganger, but Jason eases their fears about his mental state. "I wouldn't worry too much. He is going to get up and pretend that what you heard and saw didn't just happen. He's notorious for that."

William is silent, sitting next to his Jason, trying to get a feel for how deeply Jason Scott of the reality they were trapped in felt for Billy. He can't quite read Jason, so he gives up for now. William opens his eyes to see Jason's brown ones gazing into his. "What's the matter? I only closed my eyes for a moment."

"You, I don't know... it reminded me of Billy when you looked at me just now. I want to hate you but I can't, damn you. So, care to tell me what set you off when you broke Tommy's back?"

"Uh, um... well... He kind of called me out in front of everyone. I was trying so hard to be good and to fit in with the others. He was pissed off that I was made co-leader with you... I mean my Jason. He challenged me to a fight in the clearing by the Command Center. It was ugly... to say the least. I... couldn't control myself Jason, I was so sick of being his whipping boy. He picked on me a lot when we were kids. I...I don't want to talk about this anymore." He stops talking and stares at Jason with a gleam in his eyes like unshed tears. His Jason' holds him, telling him that it's ok, to not get upset over the past.

"I'm sorry William, I didn't mean to upset you. How about we all turn in? I think we all have had enough drama for one night." Everyone nods in unspoken agreement and finds a place to crash for the night. William and Jason sleep entwined in each other's arms, much to Jase's chagrin when he goes to wake them in the morning. "Uh, guys its time to get up."

"Oh morning. Sleep well?"

"Um, uh... yeah... lets see where Billy has gotten off to. He wasn't where I left him last night." Jason leaves them, confused at what he has seen, trying to convince himself that they are from another time and place. It's only natural that in some reality that he and one of the other male Rangers could be together. He comes across Billy who is sitting in front of a pillar that has a Wolf carved into the front, with a scene of a pack of wolves hunting chiseled into the back.

"Morning, how are you feeling?"

"Fine. Are you guys ready to go?" Billy says this in a flat tone, and Jason is unable to discern what kind of mood his friend is in. Billy gets up, morphs and leaves Jason standing there, unsure of whether to tell Billy of how he found their alternates entwined this morning. Billy's rapid departure doesn't give him the chance to say anything. He goes back to find Dulcea waiting for the four of them to take their positions before instructing them on how to get to the Monolith.

All of them notice that Billy is even more reserved than normal and is focusing on William with an eerie intensity that is bothering the normally confident Ranger. I wonder what that look is for? Oh well, I am sure I will find out later.' He tunes in as Dulcea is explaining the challenges that lay ahead for them.

"You will face a challenge unique to your personalities and spirit animal. You may wind up divided at times, or facing the same challenge as a team. Some of you may face a challenge that you think is impossible to overcome. If you believe this, you may as well go back to earth now and give up. You must remember that with the Great Power, anything is possible.

The Monolith lies to the east, you will find by the trail in the forest. Once at the Monolith one of you will face a final challenge before you are allowed to attain the Great Power. I will tell you this, for some of you your challenge will be unexpected and harder to accomplish than you might think.

You may go now. Billy will join you at the Monolith after you have completed the quest."

They turn and head down the path towards their destiny. Billy watches them with a scowl on his face, thinking it unfair that William must have such a difficult challenge. Dulcea comes up next to him and notices the expression on his face. "William what bothers you so?"

"I don't think it's particularly fair that I get to be Will's final challenge at the Monolith."

"What better challenge than to fight yourself? Tis a warrior's greatest test besides he has some darkness within him. It shall be a test for your self as well William. Should you pass it, greater Ninjetti skills shall be yours for the taking."

"Yeah but at what price? I know it is a matter of destiny Dulcea, I must not argue against what Fate has in store for neither him nor me. For now, what can we do about the Zords they would use? I am unsure of what to do for that problem."

"You say that Phaedos has been destroyed where they come from?"

"Yes, so I am unsure if they can use whatever Zords they do acquire after the quest."

"William, if you will remember that your Ninjetti Zords were buried within the earth once you returned home? I think it will be similar to for them. Otherwise, I am merely a warrior not a scientist. I think your problem may be how to get them back to their proper place and time."

"I know Dulcea, I know. I suppose I should start heading to the Monolith now?"

"If you desire, William. You can use your wolf form to get there a little faster."

"Huh, I can't turn into a wolf Dulcea, what are you talking about?"

"William, close your eyes and concentrate on what your Wolf spirit is telling you. Let him guide you, and let your body follow your mind for once." Billy closes his eyes and listens closely to the Wolf Lord who has chosen him as his pup and pack-mate.

"Pup, let me guide you. I shall not harm you... allow me to show you the world from my view. Relax yourself from the bond of your human mind. Smell the air, feel the ground beneath your paws... see the forest blur into green and gold as you catch the scent of the one you seek... now open your eyes pup, and you shall be changed into a true wolf, one of my own..."

Billy opens his eyes to see the forest floor has gotten a lot closer to his point of view. But how? Never mind, the hunt is on I need to get there before him.' A large bleu-gray timbre wolf dashes off into the forest in search of his prey, and test of his skills as a hunter and Ranger. Dulcea changes into a snowy owl and follows Billy as much as she can then turns back toward the temple to observe them via her skills and bond with them as fellow Ninjetti.

While the guys are busy on Phaedos, the other Rangers have been pretty idle back on Earth. Tommy is still brooding over the fact that Billy has turned against him in his opinion. The others can't get him to talk about it, except maybe his girlfriend, Kim.

"Tommy, what is bothering you so much? It's like you closed out all of us, even me."

"This whole situation with the other Rangers. I don't trust any of them, and Billy has sided with them against me."

"I wouldn't say that he has turned against you Tommy. He was just annoyed, you know he was having problems before those three dropped in on us. Give him a little break, besides you did call him a smart-ass in front of everyone."

"I know Kim. I just have a really bad feeling about them, like we are never going to be rid of them. That Jason' looked like he wanted to rip me in two. I guess seeing that Billy in Green also kind of unhinged me. I still have nightmares about those days."

"Look Oliver, you are not Rita's evil Ranger anymore and neither is that other Billy. I don't think he is all there mentally, but he isn't evil. I'm sure once they get back from Phaedos, we can work it out between you and Billy. Now relax and don't think about it for now."

"Ok, beautiful. Let's head down to Ernie's and see what the rest of the gang is up to."

"Sure, sounds like a plan." They head over the Juice Bar & Gym to find the rest of the gang there sparring or studying. The rest of the gang comes over to Kim and Tommy, curious about how Tommy is dealing with the whole situation. Rocky and Adam are very curious, especially about his sudden change in attitude towards the team genius.

"Okay Tommy, what now? Are you still peeved about Billy going back to Phaedos?"

"Yes and no, I can't make him come home, and I was taking what his alternate did to my alternate rather personally. We decided to resolve it when they return."

Adam is scowling slightly, wondering if he should tell Billy the real reason behind his concern or to let the matter drop since he seems to be interested in Aisha. Oh well, I will cross that bridge when I come to it.' Rocky has been watching him, wondering what he is so deep in thought about... "Hey Adam, are you still here?"

"Huh, oh yeah Rocky sorry. I'm worried about Jason and Billy I guess. Phaedos isn't a fun place to visit. Besides, those alternate versions of you, Jase and him give me the creeps."

"They will be fine Adam. Stop worrying so much. C'mon let's get in a few more rounds before lunch..."

Adam and Rocky bound off to the mats, and Tommy and Kim study for a big test they have coming up. Tommy can't really concentrate on his books, and instead is wondering how the quest is going for them...

Billy has been tracking them all through the Desert Of Despair as well as the Lost Glade where William wound up alone. He is wondering if he can meet the challenge of making sure his alternate self is truly worthy of the Great Power... Oh well, I can't worry too much about it now, I need to be at the Monolith when they get there. He bounds off, speeding towards the Monolith, and waits as a wolf for William. When the four arrive at the Monolith, they wonder why there is a huge wolf waiting for them, or more specifically for William. It is staring at him alone, making him nervous.

"Um, guys... is this normal behavior for wolves in your reality?"

"How would I know, there are no wild wolves in California. Billy would know..." Jason's voice trails off as he makes the connection to the wolf that is advancing on William and his friends totem spirit. "Um, William I have the oddest feeling I know who that wolf might be..."

"No, there is now way that he would do this to me... or maybe he has no choice in the matter. Alright, if that is how we are to play it out, come on and face me as a wolf or man... either way is fine with me."

Billy changes back to himself and gets into his stance and waits for William to approach him. He hates what he must do, but as William pointed out he has no choice in the matter. "So, are you ready to challenge us, human?" Billy's voice is not the normal tenor they are used to but a feral growl, and he is alight with the power he holds from the Wolf Lord for the challenge...

"I'm ready Wolf boy... let's get it on..."

And so saying he launches himself at Billy/Paldishar with everything he has... it's a fairly good fight, considering that they are nowhere near evenly matched, seeing as how Billy has the added power of Paldishar, Lord of the Wolf Ninjetti on his side.

William is only human, and in getting tired makes what could be a fatal error on his part... a ill placed spin kick misses Billy/Paldishar's midsection, landing William on his side. The miscalculation has him on his back with no where to turn except to face the man/beast that he has lost to.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Kill me already or can't you do that?"

"We only are to challenge your worthiness as a bearer of the Great Power, not to take your life human. Your warrior spirit is strong...you refuse to give up even when facing your mortality at you own hand...thus you have been accepted by Sitar, Lord of the Panther Ninjetti. He accepts your willingness to sacrifice yourself, as well as the ferociousness with which you fought your self. Stand and accept his gifts as a Ninjetti warrior."

Billy gets off of William, then hits the ground in a heap. Holding the powers of a God are taxing even for a Ranger. Dulcea comes over, and holds his hands, chanting a healing prayer for his recovery. He stands up, holding onto Dulcea for a moment. Once he has regained his composure, he goes to sit at the Wolf Shrine while listening to Dulcea's words.

"Our young Wolf shall be fine. You battled valiantly William. Sitar is pleased with his choice. The rest of you faced your challenges with equal grace, strength and nobility. Jason, when you faced the Desert of Despair, you did not waiver in your faith that your friends were true. Rocky, in your travels through the Forest of Deceptions, you again held true to your beliefs letting that guide you past the falsehoods presented to you. Jason', the Glade of Malice tested you mightily... your bond with the other Warriors of Light saw you through. Finally William, your test was the most difficult of them all. Facing yourself in combat is never easy. I commend William on having the strength to challenge you and to see that you have overcome the shade upon your spirit. Now rest and when you are ready you are free to return to Zordon, I am sure he is anxious to see you again."

The assembled Ninjetti sits still for a moment, letting the realization sink in that they have completed the Quest successfully. Then William shocks them all by letting out a cry of triumph. "YES, we did it... finally we did it...!" He notices that Billy isn't jumping around with the rest of them, so he goes over to him to check on him. "Billy, aren't you excited? We survived the Great Quest... what's wrong you don't seem terribly excited about all this"

"I'm sorry William, I need to lay down for a bit... being used as a vessel by a God is taxing. I am heading in to the Wolf Shrine for a nap. Please wake me when you head back to the temple."

"Um sure. Do you need help?"

"No, go celebrate you have earned it." Billy leaves them to enjoy their victory; finding the resting-place in the Wolf Shrine and lying down to sleep in about 10 seconds flat. While he is asleep Dulcea watches over him, worrying about her young Wolf Ninjetti. He awakens a couple of hours later to find Dulcea sitting near him watching him.

"Dulcea, where are the others?"

"They are at the temple William. I told them I would bring you once you were rested. As you know being a vessel for the Lord of the Wolf is tiring to anyone even a Ninjetti. Come, we need to get back for the evening meal. Once you all have had a good night's rest, you should return to Zordon. Would you care to travel as a Wolf?"

"That would be fine, it was fun in a way..." The change into their animal forms and head back to the Temple. When they have arrive, the others stand up and wait for them to change back into a human form. Billy seems slightly changed to them, but for now they can't tell if it is for better or worse. He merely drops down beside his Jason and waits for Dulcea to speak to them.

"After a night's rest you all should return to Zordon. You all have worked hard to acquire the Great Power, do not forget this time nor what you have sworn to uphold as Ninjetti. Fair thee well young ones, I shall not forget you. Give Zordon my regards William." Dulcea then strides off in her abrupt manner, not really giving them a chance to say goodbye to her. The guys relax, eat and joke about feeling a lot better than they have in a while. Billy is conversing quietly with Jason, wondering about how they can get the others home.

"Did you and Dulcea figure out a way for them to get back?"

"No, she is a Warrior, not a scientist as she put it. I will be able to figure it out, I just hope its in time to save their world. So how do you like it? The new power I mean?"

"Its amazing Billy. So much stronger than the morphin' powers...At least now, I can help out again if need be. I wonder what Zack and Trini's animal guides would be?"

"Zack would have to something playful, and Trini's would have to be something graceful and strong. I think an Otter for Zack and a Lioness for her. It seems proper for their personalities."

"Yeah, I was sort of surprised that William wasn't also a Wolf. A panther seems to suit him though."

"Yep...it does." Billy is silent as he thinks that the darkness in him is there though, I can feel it. His soul is cleansed however his mind is still clouded...but no time to think of it now.' He looks up at Jason and hops up to head into the rest area.

"I'm ready for a good nights rest and to return home."

"Agreed" The crew heads in for the night, sleeping peacefully for now... At first light they teleport home to an empty Command Center and a quiet homecoming. Even Alpha 5 is still recharging. Billy is pleased that they were able to come in quietly, so that he can deal with other issues before seeing the other Rangers again. "I'm going to the resort, I'll call you all later."

The others nod in agreement, and teleport off to their various destinations. Jason's parents are surprised when they come down to breakfast and see Jase sitting there with toast, juice and the morning paper. "Hi Mom, Dad... we got back really early... I didn't want to wake you."

"That's fine son, did you enjoy yourself?" Joe Scott is meandering around trying to muster up some coffee for himself and his wife, while Jason answers him.

"Yeah, it was good to get away for a little while. Besides, Billy has been stressed out lately. He needed the break more than I did."

"What is going on with him? Lance called us in a panic a couple days before you left. He said he couldn't find Billy and he needed to find him then and there... it's unlike him to panic like that"

"Well... it seems as if Mr. Cranston and the family have been keeping a couple of major secrets from Billy. He, well... Billy's cousin Alex isn't his cousin; he's his twin. Also, Mr. Cranston has gotten remarried, no one even knew he was seeing someone. And for fun as Billy put it, his half sister is back on town. So Billy is on edge to say the least." He looks up to find his parents staring at him in shock. As far as they know Lance Cranston is one of the most upright, moral people they know. They just could not fathom him holding that kind of skeleton in his closet for so long.

Marjorie Scott keeps looking from her husband to her son in disbelief. "Son, are you sure about this? I really can't see Lance holding something that important from Billy."

"Mom, I am sure, he... broke down when he finally told me the whole story. He's hurting Mom. I wish there were something I could do for him. I don't think I have ever seen Billy so angry since we were children."

Joe puts a comforting arm around his son, realizing that he has gone into his big brother' mode with Billy. "Jason, the best thing you can do is be there if he needs you. You know he won't talk unless he wants to. You can be his friend as always, and offer any support he would be willing to accept. Why don't you invite him for dinner? He always enjoys being here, maybe he would feel a little better..."

"Sure Dad, as soon as I catch up on sleep. We didn't really stop on the way back. I'll let one of you know later if he accepts the invitation. Sorry, but I am heading back to bed. G'night." Jason heads to his room and gets in a couple more hours of sleep.

While he is getting some zzz's... William, Rocky and Jason are in the hotel room, having a late breakfast and enjoying a rare moment of relaxation. Rocky is checking Will over for cuts and bruises from the fight he had with Paldishar/Billy just to be sure he is really ok. "Ok, would you stop it already Rock, I am fine..."

"Look he, they whatever still whomped you pretty good. Powers or no powers I am still team doctor and I haven't cleared you. Now just relax, I'm almost done."

"Fine, Doc. DeSantos, am I all clear sir?"

"No need to be an ass about it. I'm concerned about you. Besides, now that we have these wonderful powers how about getting us where we belong?"

"I am going to the Command Center shortly, I need to find out the frequency modulation for our reality, as well as a way to re-open the passageway to our Earth. For the moment, let's enjoy ourselves and then we can get back to the task at hand. Ok, Doc?"

"Fine, I am just anxious to be home... if we still have a home to get back to William."

"I know Rocky, I know." After cleaning up and scarfing down room service, William heads to the Command Center while Rocky and Jason decide to seek out their counterparts. Billy unfortunately isn't having such an easy time now that he is back. His uncle is worried about his refusal to stay put very long as well as his outright hostility to the idea of even talking to his father.

"Look, I am not saying that I will never speak to Dad again. He hurt me uncle, he hurt me in a very harsh way that I don't know if I can ever forgive. I need to meet my friends at the Center, we have a project due soon for Chemistry. I'll be fine."

"You are impossible. You might want to call Jason, he left a message for you while you were in the shower."

"Thanks." Billy goes to his room to call Jase and see what could have prompted him to call so soon after their return. "Hi Mrs. Scott... I'm ok, well as can be expected I guess. Thanks a lot for your concern. Sure, I'll hold on a moment. Hi Jase, what's up?"

"Nothing serious, mom and dad suggested I invite you over for dinner. You know to unwind..."

"...Thanks... but why did you tell them? I appreciate the concern and all, but I really don't want a lot of people to know."

"Sorry, It just came out. You know my folks think of you as a second Scott son, and your dad calling them in a panic kind of tipped them off anyway."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that whole freak out thing he did before we left. I will be there gladly. Is it cool if I crash there, it would save me a drive back and forth to Forest Creek."

"As if you had to ask. What time will you be here?"

"After I take care of some other things though. Will you be around later? I can meet you at the Youth Center and we can walk over or I'll drive."

"Whatever you want is fine Billy. Is 4:30 good? We can hang out until mom gets home."

"Sure, I'll see you later then, and thank you."

"Welcome, catch you later Cranston." They hang up, with Jason heading off to the Youth Center after he informs his mom that Billy will be joining them. Billy heads to the Command Center to find William sitting on the floor trying to figure out a panel on the Command console.

"It would work better if you attached the green wire to the main board instead of the red one."

"Oh hi, I was kinda bored so I was amusing myself by trying to figure this out."

"Curious even in another dimension. So, what are we gonna do about getting you three home?"

"I figured if we use our communicators to decipher the bandwidth of our respective realities in relativity to the continuum, we can open the portal that allowed us to teleport in. Of course, if either one of us makes a mistake we could just blow up the universe as we know it. Simple isn't it?"

"It always is...may I see your communicator? Nice, did you make these?"

"No, Trini did before she left for college. I modified the design to make long range teleport easier, she gave me a couple of spares to tinker with and that's the final design."

"Yeah...how are these attuned?"

"To our bio-rhythm, as well as vital signs and power signature. It is set to home in our base, so that could be the frequency of our reality as it were. I am not sure if our base signals are identical."

"I doubt it. There would be minute differences in even our molecular make up that would make us distinguishable. Hmm..." Billy falls silent as he starts the computer on deciphering the frequency modulation for their respective realities. "Now that the computer is working on that it will take a little time. How about we get lunch near the hotel and finish our little discussion?"

"I thought we were done. Unless there is something else on your mind."

"Well the whole telepathy and telekinesis thing is still on my mind. I have been feeling different since the battle, I'm not sure if it's just an after effect of Paldishar or if these abilities have been unlocked somehow."

So, you want to see if you are able to do this at will now? William sends the message to see if Billy gets it and responds without that mental flinch he got earlier. Ok, William... now we know that I can do this at will, I'm just not sure about how to control it.

"You have to learn to block out emotions. I was a basket case for the first few months until the Aquitian Rangers helped us out. Cestro was a great help in learning how to deal with my abilities. C'mon let's go." Will and Billy teleport into a lot near the hotel and enter the restaurant on the main level. "So what did you want for lunch Billy?"

"I don't know, maybe something simple... a chicken Caesar salad would be fine."

Sure, that sounds good to me. I'm not pathing' to freak you out, just seeing how easily you pick up my messages. William is staring at the menu with a silly look on his face, wondering how soon it will be before one of them cracks and starts answering unspoken questions.

Stop that Will. I'm not entirely comfortable with communicating like this. You just want me to slip up and respond to something you didn't verbalize.

No, I am waiting for either one of us to do that, not you alone. I still do that with Jase. He is a low level psionic as well. I have often answered verbally to questions he sent me mentally. Let's order, I am starving.

They order lunch and sit there seemingly silent for a while as they converse about anything but the problem they both face in getting Will, Jason' and Rocky' home. So, have you worked things out with your father yet? William is concerned about his alternate, because he can feel the tension coming off of him in waves as soon as the subject is brought up.

"No, I haven't spoken with my father in a few days. I only want to forget about it for now. Can we discuss something else please?"

"Sure, if you wish to ignore the issue." Billy scowls at him and makes a point of ignoring the remark. "Look, I'm sorry but your tension is like a slap in the face right now. You are gonna snap if you don't take care of this soon."

"William, I am already at wits end about the whole thing. I planned to call Dad after this and have dinner with him alone in a couple of days. I have to get the way I feel off my chest soon or I am gonna blow up, again. I already kind of lost it at school last week... I'm surprised nothing has happened in regard to that. I'm sorry I didn't mean to snap at you, but I am tired of everyone walking on eggshells around me lately."

"It's no big deal. I'm used to it. What are you doing later anyway?"

"I'm going to Jason's for dinner. Knowing Mrs. Scott, she'll probably try to get me to go over and see him while I'm there, yes it is a bad idea now, I can't face him yet. I still need a little time to think about what I am going to say and how I can cope with all of this. If you are done, I think we should check on our little project..."

Of course, the sooner I know I can get home or there is nothing to go back to the better. William goes to the room to grab his laptop before they head back to the Command Center. Once they arrive and go over the data, the results aren't what either boy was hoping for. Billy sighs and slumps to the ground while reading the results, making Will tense up and get agitated. They lock gazes and realize the same thing... there is a slim to none chance of them going home.

"Will, I'm sorry. The energy signature from your Earth is so faint, it doesn't seem as if there is anyone or anything really alive there now. I failed you..."

To his credit, William hasn't hit the ground in a fit of hysterics, but he is far from being composed. He asks in a low whisper if Billy can scan the planet for life signs versus Machine Empire energy signatures. "Sure..." Billy sets about the grim task of coming up with a death toll for Will. He grips the console as he reads over the numbers.

"William, you may need to sit down for this. Out of 7 billion human life signs, there are now only 3.5 million scattered across the globe. Right now, there are 5.5 billion energy signatures from the Machine Empire across the world. Most of the major cities, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing are gone, no life signs whatsoever. God, all of those people are just gone. I'm sorry William, so sorry that I failed you."

Will is on the floor of the Command Center, hugging his knees wondering how he can even tell them there is no way to go home, and if they did manage it, there was no one to defend from evil. He dreads telling Rocky' and Jason' that they have lost. He is making a keening noise, rocking back and forth for all of the lives lost on his world. Billy is near breaking down, feeling the loss, despair and anguish from Will. He sinks to the ground beside his alternate and hugs him. Billy is usually not demonstrative in his feelings, but he knows that Will is very close to an emotional meltdown, as is he. It is at this moment that the others teleport in to find them mourning the loss of a world.

Tommy, both Jason's and both Rocky's have a feeling that they won't like what could have made Billy and William breakdown like this. Jason' goes to William and tries to help him stand, but he flatly refuses to move or to unwrap himself from Billy's embrace.

"N...no Jason. Don't touch me. I failed you...I failed and they are all gone. Let me stay here, I can't deal with this... I failed you, our home...it's overrun by those fucking machines...I don't deserve to be a Ranger let alone leader. I f...fai...failed. I'm sorry, so sorry..." William crumples on the ground in a heap unable to control himself any longer. Billy stays with him, knowing he is not in any type of shape to tell them what has happened. Jason' cradles him as best he can, knowing that William is having a total breakdown at the news of the Machine Empire's victory on their Earth. Billy wipes his eyes and looks up at them to tell them the bad news.

"Well... I failed you all as well. In the time they have been gone, the Ma...Machine Empire leveled almost all of the major cities of the world. Out of a population of over 7 billion people, there are now roughly 3 and a half million people populating the entire planet in their reality. Also, they can't get back... even with the new powers and Zords... the Machine Empire has taken their Earth. I failed to find a solution quickly enough, they have no way home and no home to get to. Angel Grove still stands, however they are using it as a base of operations. Any humans still there are probably enslaved. I'm sorry Rocky' and Jason'...I don't know what else to say now..."

Billy falls silent as they take in what he has said. William jumps up and runs outside to the cliffs that border the Command Center. Jason and Billy realize what he means to do as he makes it out the door. "Oh my god, he's planning to jump." Jason runs out after his lover and grabs him as he is standing at the edge of the cliffs, making peace with his Goddess. William struggles in his Jason's iron grip, wanting only to sacrifice himself for his perceived failure. "Let me go Jason, dammit let go! It's only fair that I lose my life for those I failed to save."

"Goddamit William Augustus Cranston, I am not going to let you toss yourself off these rocks in some fit of remorse. WE ALL took the chance on coming here, and we all knew the risk, you were the one who kept reminding us this could all wind up being in vain. So stop with the fucking self-loathing already... if you jump we should go with you as well. We're all in it for the long haul. We just have to regroup and figure out what to do."

William is still struggling to get out of Jason's' grip, not hearing a word of what has been said. Jason' finally gets exasperated and picks up his lover and drags him back inside. "Billy, can you sedate him until he gets a hold of himself? I really don't want to have to slug him."

"Um, sure..." He sedates William with a none too steady hand, and rejoins the rest of the group in the main chamber. Rocky' and Jason' are a little peaked, but seem to be taking the news well. Jason' steps forward to apologize for the scene they were just witness to and to speak with Zordon about what choices they could have available to them.

"I apologize. He always has had a problem controlling his emotions. The news was way too much for him to bear, he takes the responsibility of co-leadership very seriously. He feels as if this was a personal failure for the team as well as the planet. He should be fine once he awakens. Zordon, is there any possibility for us to remain here? I'm sure we can work out a way for us to remain. I'm sure that we can make an existence in Stone Canyon or Crossworlds City."

"'JASON', I AM POSITIVE WE CAN HELP YOU, ROCKY AND WILLIAM FIND A NEW LIFE HERE. YOU HAVE MY CONDOLENCES FOR YOUR FALLEN TEAMMATES. ONCE WILLIAM HAS COME BACK TO HIMSELF, I WILL SPEAK WITH HIM ABOUT YOUR ADDITION TO OUR TEAM. IF THE MACHINE EMPIRE IS THIS POWERFUL, THEN THREE EXTRA RANGERS WOULD BE A GREAT HELP IN THE FIGHT AGAINST EVIL.

THERE ARE LIVING QUARTERS HERE IN THE COMMAND CENTER IF YOU WOULD DESIRE TO STAY HERE."

"Thank you Zordon. We can move in by the weekend. If you will excuse me, I need to check on Will."

"CERTAINLY JASON'. THE LIVING QUARTERS ARE AT YOUR DISPOSAL WHEN YOU ARE READY." The others stand silently, with Tommy a little more shell-shocked than he cares to admit. To realize that a Ranger team has fallen, and a world destroyed sobers him a little. Kim, Rocky and Aisha decide to head home since neither Billy, Jason' or Rocky' seems to be receptive to their offers of assistance. Aisha hugs Billy and kisses him on the cheek before teleporting out. The remaining team is left in an awkward silence, with Billy sitting on the floor in a mirror image of how Will was moments before. Jason comes down to him and looks into the emerald green eyes, seeing the hurt, loss and fear in his old friends' face.

"Billy, look at me. I'm only going to say this once. Neither you nor William are to blame for what happened on their world. You both gave all you had and then some. No one is blaming you or him for this. I know you are going to tear yourself apart about this, but there is no need for you to. I will still see you for dinner and we can talk afterward. Just nod if you understand, I know you won't speak now."

Billy nods his acceptance of Jason's wisdom, and stands up. Adam is there, waiting to say something to him, he waits for his shy friend to speak up. "Billy, I cant really say what I had in mind better than how Jason just put it, so I want you to know I will be there as well when or if you need someone to talk to. Please don't blame yourself, blame the enemy." Adam, then kisses Billy lightly on the cheek and teleports out.

Billy is startled by that last action, and looks up to see the other Jason and Rocky looking at him questioningly. "I have no idea what that was about... I'll ask him later. I should check on Will."

"He is still sleeping, I set my communicator to beep when he wakes up. Are you two going to be ok?"

"Eventually I will be. William... well he has a lot more to work through than I do as far as feeling guilty about this." Jason gives him a brief hug and whispers in his ear..."He'll be ok, I plan to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." At that he backs off and teleports out with Rocky'. That leaves only Tommy and Billy alone in the main chamber. Billy looks over to Tommy, expecting to see malice and I told you so' written all over his face, but he doesn't see that at all. Just a sense of loss and remorse for what the others have lost.


	3. Failed efforts

Billy sighs and rubs his hand over his face. "Tommy, I will talk to you later, I need to meet up with Jason. Bye" Billy teleports out without another word to the Juice bar. Where he finds Jason and the others sitting around quietly. "Hey guys, I made it back. Jase are you ready to go? I would like to go to your place and relax, and we can talk there." Billy looks at the others, realizing it seems like he is being rude and ignoring his other teammates. "Sorry guys, I don't mean to make it seem like I'm ignoring you, I really need to decompress."

Rocky and Adam nod their assent to his words. Adam looks away slightly, noticing that Billy had failed to mention his kiss on the cheek. I wonder why he isn't mentioning that kiss, probably because the whole group is here. Billy smirks, noting Adam's blush when he failed to mention anything about that kiss on the cheek. I'd better say something or he will be horribly embarrassed later.

Billy goes over to Adam and whispers in his ear."Um, Adam can I call you later, we need to talk as well." Adam blushes and looks down as he whispers back to Billy."Sure, I need to talk to you.go on, just call me later. Maybe we can meet if talking on the phone turns out to be awkward."

Billy only nods and after giving a quick good bye to the others, leaves the Juice Bar trailing behind Jason. Neither boy says much until they arrive at Jason's house and is alone in his room. Billy sits on the bed, and lays back. Jason lets' him be quiet, hoping that he would open up a little bit. While they play cat and mouse, the other 'Jason' has returned and is watching over William, who is still asleep from the sedative.

Jason is holding his hand, protective of William. Dammit Will, wake up. I need you. As he is cursing his lover mentally, Will drags his eyes open and winces at the brightness of the room. "Hey, what ran me over? I feel like you used me for a punching bag."

Jason hugs William and kisses him on the cheek before saying a word. Once he does speak, his voice is thick with emotion. "Don't ever scare me like that again William! I thought you were going to jump for real!"

William looks at his lover, and puts his head on his chest before giving his answer in a flat voice. "I was, I failed I deserve to die Jason. Why couldn't you all let me do that right at least?"

As Jason stared at William sensing that he was really ready to die and that he wanted that very badly. Jason holds his lover, letting him sob out his anguish and hurt. 'Jason' is unsure of what to do.he has never seen William so down, or ready to end it all, at least for real. "William, please you are scaring me.stop this please."

'Jason' is doing his best to comfort 'William', but can't seem to get much out of him besides hysterical sobbing. While they try to get their issues resolved, Billy and Jason are still sitting quietly, with Jason finally breaking the silence. "Billy, why are won't you open up to me? Even after all this time you still have walls up between us."

Billy looks up at Jason, slightly startled at his voice cutting the silence."Huh, oh I'm sorry Jason I was miles away. I was thinking about Adam.and that peck on the cheek. I'm not sure what to make of that."

"Oh, I see.yeah that is kind of a tough call. Why don't you call him and talk about it. Or better yet go over, we still have time before Mom gets home." Jason hands Billy the cordless phone, giving no room for refusal. Billy sighs and takes the phone, wishing Jason would let him handle it.however; he knew that meant ignoring the problem until it drove him nuts mentally.

"Thanks, I guess there is only one way to resolve this." Billy looks at the receiver, wishing he could just teleport into Adam's room and get it over with. "Here goes everything.Um, hi Adam are you busy now?"

"No, what's up?" Adam had decided to play it cool with Billy, knowing how elusive he could be in regard to emotional issues. "Nothing much, I wanted to talk to you. if you wanted to that is."

Adam is silent, deciding if he should take the offer of resolution that Billy was offering. "Uh sure. Come on over, I'll be in my room. Bye." Adam hung up before he could chicken out of the conversation he was going to have.

Billy hung up and handed the receiver back to Jason mutely.he was unsure of what was up with Adam and could only guess at what he could want."I'll be at Adam's.'page' me when I should return, ok?"

"Sure, good luck." Billy leaves the Scott household, heading towards Adam's place. Once he arrives and is let into Adam's home he heads up the stairs to find Adam pacing nervously around his room. Billy enters quietly and sits on the bed, clears his throat to make his presence known.

Adam jumps slightly."Oh hi.when did you get here?"

"I've been here long enough to watch you pace nervously.what is going on with you? Or better yet. what was with the kiss on the cheek?" Billy sits back.wondering what Adam is up to.

"Um, well that uh, well.Ok. I was worried about you. I thought you were breaking down, and I did it as a friendly gesture."

"Bull Adam, men don't kiss on the cheek as a friendly gesture. I would like the truth please, I have had enough BS out of several people the last few days, and I couldn't take it if you lied to me as well."

"Ok, ok.I wanted to kiss you, and I would have preferred it to have been on the lips, I want you! There are you happy now?" Adam turns away embarrassed to have confessed his attraction to Billy, and Billy is sitting on the bed, unsure of what to say at this point. He grabs Adam's hand, and pulls him to the bed in a sitting position.

"Ok, so now we know what to do from this point forward?" Billy isn't angry, but is intrigued and interested to see how this could play out."First of all, I am not mad, I am quite flattered actually. So what now Froggie?" Billy is staring at Adam, unsure about how a touch on the shoulder might be interpreted at this point. He watches as Adam looks all over the room, anywhere but at him. Billy looks at him, hoping Adam will say something. "C'mon Adam.say something."

Adam finally looks into Billy's eyes."I'm sorry I shouldn't have done that. But what about Aisha?" Billy smiles and looks to Adam."I don't know what to do about her or you. Like I said let's play it by ear. She and I haven't even had a real date yet. Let me get myself together before I decide on anything or anyone. Is that ok by you?"

Adam smiles grateful, that he hasn't destroyed his friendship. "That is more than I hoped for. Let me give you something to think about in the meantime then." Before Billy can ask what Adam is talking about, Adam grabs him and kisses him until neither boy can breathe. "Think about that Billy. you know that I love you and I hope we can have something between us."

With that Adam exits the room.knowing Billy is trying to process what he just did, and also because his mother is calling him. He returns to find Billy staring out of the window, with a pensive look on his face. Adam comes over; almost afraid he went too far with the kiss. Billy sees his reflection and turns to face him, seeing the expression that Adam has.he smiles slightly. "Adam, don't worry. I'm just thinking too hard about all of this. I have problems to work out. Once I have resolved my family issues, I can be more attentive to you and Aisha. Is that enough for now my frog prince?"

Adam can barely suppress his grin. "It is more than I hoped for my pack- mate. Thank you for not being mad at me." Billy snickers.a rare thing for him in general. "No problem froggie." As Billy turns to head out, his communicator beeps. "Hello?"

"Hey Billy, you should come back now, mom will be here soon." Jason's voice sounded tired and a little strained, even coming through the small device on Billy's wrist. "Got it, I'm on my way, Billy out." "I've gotta get back, Jason's family is expecting me for dinner. I'll talk to you later."

Billy gives Adam a brief kiss on the cheek and leaves, feeling a little better about his situation. He re-enters the Scott household to find everyone at the table or in the dining room. "Hi Mrs. Scott, Mr. Scott. Thanks for having me over tonight. Jase, do you need help setting the table?"

Jason smiles and hands Billy some silverware. The boys set the table quietly. and don't say much until Mrs. Scott asks Billy how he is doing. "Billy, how are you feeling?"

Billy blushes.and coughs a little bit."I'm doing as well as can be expected Mrs. Scott. It's tough to deal with, especially since it was kind of handed to me all at once." Jason's parent nod, glad that Billy seems to be dealing with the whole fiasco rather well. Dinner passes quietly, with Billy and Jason excusing themselves to return to Jason's room. Once they are alone, Billy flops onto Jason's bed sighing.

"Jase, what am I going to do realistically? I'm still mad at my father, and now we have William and Co. to worry about. He was really wigged out.he was really gonna jump you know." Jason sits next to Billy.speaking quietly. "I know, he blamed himself, much like Tommy would do if he was in charge. I'll call them later to see how they are. As far as your father goes, I don't know what to say bro'. He has to know he hurt you pretty bad with all of these secrets. What about Alex, have you thought about how he feels at all?"

Billy winces, he hadn't thought about Alex at all during this whole ordeal. He knew that Alex was at home, probably not speaking to Lance either, being miserable. "Yeah, I haven't even thought about him throughout this whole ordeal. I should probably call him. May I use the phone again?"

Jason hands Billy the phone and goes back downstairs to allow Billy some privacy. Billy nods his thanks and dials his number, hoping Lance doesn't answer the phone. "Hello Cranston residence." Billy winces as he hears Lance answer."Uh hi, can I speak to Alex please." Lance cringes at the coldness of his son's voice. "Sure Billy, how are you?" "Father, do you really want me to answer that right now? I am nowhere near fine, now if you don't mind I would like to speak with my brother." Lance bites back the comment he thought of and instead gives Alex the phone saying only its for him.

Alex takes the phone wondering who would be calling him there. "Hello?" Billy answers, with much more warmth in his voice. "Hi Alex, it's Billy. I called to see how you were holding up." Alex smiles, hoping that Billy has gotten over his anger and will be home soon. "I'm ok, I'm so glad that you called. I. I wish you would come back BJ. Lance is so miserable, and I'm not having a fun time here either. He's sorry, and I think you should at least hear him out." Billy sighs and composes himself, so he doesn't lash out at Alex. "Alex, I'm not ready to do that just yet. I want to see you though, I haven't been very good about talking to you about this, I'm freaked out Alex, and I can't get past my anger at him, and to be honest I need help to do that. Can you come over to Jason's house if he says it's ok?"

"I'll be there in 10 minutes, meet me halfway would you?" "Sure, I'll be coming down Elm ok?" Alex smiles, and nods as if Billy could see him. "You got it. See you shortly bye." The boys disconnect and Billy heads downstairs to find Jason. "Jason, is it ok if Alex comes over?" Jason looks up pleasantly surprised at Billy's pleased expression at seeing Alex. "Mom?" Jason's mother smiles and nods her approval.

"Thanks Mrs. Scott, Mr. Scott. I'll be back with him soon." Billy bounds down the street to find Alex walking towards him, looking like he was walking the last mile. Billy heads to him and falls into step next to him. "So, care to tell me why you look like you are heading to the gas chamber?" Alex looks up startled."Sorry, it's just I feel like this is all some weird dream.and that this isn't real. I'm sorry to be moody, it's good to see you BJ; you look good."

Billy smiles and blushes slightly."Thanks, c'mon, Jason is itching to meet you." Alex balks at the notion of meeting some of Billy's friends so soon. "Um, bro' is that such a good idea? I haven't really been feeling sociable lately. What if your friends don't like me?" Billy almost laughs, but he realizes that Alex is dead serious. "C'mon, my friends will like you AJ. They took me in as a friend, and I'm the king geek of the city. Don't worry.besides Jason's mom won't give you two seconds to feel unwelcome." Billy punctuates the line with a genuine grin as he hops up the stairs and rings the bell. He is greeted by Jason.who seems a little startled to see carbon copy of his best buddy standing on the porch behind Billy. "Hi, I'm Jason, come on in."

Alex is still a little uncertain about Billy's friends and feels shy about meeting the bigger teen at his home. "Thanks, I'm Alex Cranston, nice to meet you. Thanks for having me over." Jason ushers the boys in smiling at the way Billy seems to have relaxed in Alex's presence. "Not a problem Alex. Do you want anything to drink or eat?" Alex is uncertain about responding, since he just met Jason, and doesn't want to be intrusive. "A soda would be fine if you have it Jason." Billy is noticing the reticence that Alex is showing."Alex, relax. Jason is my best friend; he's sincere in his hospitality. C'mon lets meet his parents." Alex nods, and is led to the kitchen where Jason's parents greeted him enthusiastically. "Welcome Alex, can we get you anything?" Alex blushes, not used to having anyone make such a fuss over meeting him. "Thank you ma'am, Jason was getting me a drink I believe. Nice to meet you."

The Scott's smile and leave the boys to their own devices.Billy sits on the living room couch, followed by Jason and Alex, who is nervous about meeting Billy's friends.


	4. Meeting the friends and family

Alex was still a little uncertain about Billy's friends and somewhat shy about meeting the bigger teen at his home. "Thanks, I'm Alex Cranston," he told Jason, "It's nice to meet you. Thanks for having me over." Jason ushered the boys inside, glad that Billy seemed to have relaxed in his twin's presence.

"Not a problem Alex. Do you want anything to drink or eat?" Alex uncertain about responding, since he just met Jason, and didn't want to be intrusive. "A soda would be fine- if you have it, Jason."

Billy is noticing the reticence that Alex was showing told him, "Alex, relax. Jason is my best friend. He's sincere in his hospitality. C'mon lets meet his parents." Alex just nodded and allowed himself to be led to the kitchen where Jason's parents greeted him enthusiastically.

"Welcome Alex. Can we get you anything?" Jason's mom asked.

Alex blushed, not used to having such a fuss made over meeting him. "Thank you ma'am, Jason was getting me a drink I believe. It's nice to meet you."

The Scott's smiled and left the boys to their own devices, as they returned to the living room. Billy sat on the sofa, followed by Jason and then Alex. Jason noticing that Billy was suddenly antsy, and unable to sit still very long, he handed Alex his drink, but hesitated before giving Billy the coffee he had made him. "Billy, are you sure you should even have caffeine right now? You suddenly seem nervous. What's up?"

Billy looked up at Jason and then over to Alex, carefully considering if he wanted to delve into why he is so angry with Lance.and why he wanted his, correction THEIR half-sister out of town and out of their lives.

Alex noticed his brother's reticence and asked, "Billy what is wrong? You practically ran to greet me, now you seem to have gone on a mental road trip." Alex scooted over and looked deep into Billy's eyes, wondering if he would open up about it.

After a moment of consideration, Billy hopped up from the couch.. "May we talk in your room Jase? I'd feel more comfortable there."

Jason nodded and told his oldest friend, "Of course." The three followed him up to his room, bringing the drinks. Alex shot him a "what the hell is wrong with him?" look, and all Jase could do was shrug. For all the years he had known Billy, he still couldn't decipher his moods when it came to emotional issues.

As the boys entered the room, Billy headed straight to the window and stared out at early evening Angel Grove. It was as if he could will himself to be somewhere else if he just wished hard enough. What he needed to say would change things forever in his mind, his relation ship with Jason, Alex, everyone. Needless to say, that his father's already tarnished record would be ruined forever in the eyes of some. Taking a deep breath, he started to speak in a low voice.

"Jason, I know I have only mentioned my half-sister in passing.and never in a good way." Billy blushed at that confession. It wasn't like him to speak ill of others, but Shanna was a special case. "Alex you know her, but not really why we hate each other so much. Father-he told me the truth about this in a letter after I totally lost it the other night, which was not a pretty sight to say the least." He sighed and rolled his eyes to the ceiling as if trying to gather his thoughts before continuing, "I had always assumed that he had been married previously- before he met mom. I wish I could still believe that now. He.he. had an illicit affair early into his marriage to mother," the words came tumbling out as if by saying the quickly, the pain would be shorter lived, "and the woman died in a jet crash when Shanna was four and I was three. afterwards Shanna came to live with us."

Jase could almost see the tears in his friend's eyes as he continued, "They told me she was adopted until I was older, and even then I was always asked to accept her as a sister- which I had no problem with at first. I was lonely and glad to have a sibling even if I had no idea at the time that she really was my sister and not an orphan they had taken in. She, on the other hand, seemed to feel differently. She was a horrible child to live with.she was trying to cope with her mother's death, suddenly living with strangers and having a little brother." He shook his head as if considering Shanna's failure to adapt his own, "I don't think anything we could have done would have made her happy. As we got older, she became worse. I noticed how she resented mom and any attempts she made to get close to Shanna. She picked on me mercilessly, like it was the only thing that gave her joy. It was as if by striking out at me, she could hurt someone else. Someone she blamed for her circumstances."

Billy sipped his coffee he retrieved from the beside table before continuing, "It was getting to the point where I would over-hear conversations they had about sending her away to boarding school or a child psychologist. I don't know if mom ever knew about the affair.I think Dad told her a childhood friend had asked him to watch over Shanna if something ever happened to her." Billy's voice broke for a second, and he took a moment to collect himself, holding the coffee close to him as if for comfort.

Alex just sat still with his hands wrapped around the glass, as he waited for Billy to continue the story. Finally, Billy left the window and sank into a nearby chair as he looked them over before continuing. ".Sorry, I think it's so fucking ironic that dad fooled us all like that. Me, you and mom. Anyway, about a year before we lost mom in the hold-up, Shanna finally became too much for all of us. She was setting small fires, becoming violent and erratic. She had become a danger to all of us, and Mom and Dad were forced to do something about the situation."

Billy looked over at Jason, "I don't think she ever recovered from losing her mother." He smiled sheepishly, "I know I can understand that. I do remember Mom finally losing her cool about the whole situation. She walked in front of Dad, holding up whatever it was Shanna had broken and stayed put until Dad heard her out, and agreed that Shanna had to go where she could get help. They sent her to a private boarding school for children with behavioral problems. That was putting a sugar coating on it- it was basically a reform school. Of she resented us even more after that."

Billy leaned back in the chair and looked at Jase and Alex, "She only came home on holidays, and that was too much. She would come home and almost get sent back in two days. It was like she wanted revenge on all of us for sending her away." Billy looked down at his coffee in shame, "Which I can understand now, but it didn't make it any easier." Looking up he said, "After Mom died, I don't think Dad could cope with having her in the house.

On more than one occasion she would tell him that she wished I was dead, as well as mom. She was at the funeral, but I was so screwed up in the head I attacked her when she tried to talk to me." Billy smiled bitterly at that memory, making Alex and Jason worry for a moment when he sipped his coffee and stared at the floor lapsing into a painful silence.

Alex stood and went to the window, mirroring Billy's earlier actions. Jason watched them noting the differences and similarities in the twins. He also realized that Alex was a lot calmer and mellow.while Billy was reserved, not calm. Jase went to Billy and gave him a brief hug, knowing that unloading emotionally was getting to him. He went to Alex, and simply put a hand on his shoulder, not knowing how his new friend would interpret a hug. Yes, he realized that he already considered Alex a friend. Alex turned and smiled at Jason.

Alex, sensing his concern, and somewhat touched at how quickly Jason had accepted him said, "I'll be ok eventually, thanks for your concern, Jason. This is a bit much for me to digest on top of every thing else we've been dealing with. I just don't know how I'll be able to return to the house and look at him."

Billy snorted rudely as he finished off his coffee."Welcome to the reality of our lives, Jason. We should be on MTV, or one of those dumb talk shows after all this drama. Anyway, several years have passed and I managed to ignore Shanna's presence on the planet quite well. Until she was there for dinner the other night, Dad sat us right next to each other.

I nearly had a heart attack. I have to admit that I was feeling a little ashamed since the last time we saw each other, several adults had to separate us. It was bad- really bad, and I don't want to talk about it. Let's just say that's how I got the scar on my back and leave it at that." He sighed and told them, "After the bombshells were dropped, she tried to corner me and talk. Needless to say, I didn't want to be in the same room as her, let alone; talk. My Dad, the bastard, pulled a dirty trick though.he put us in adjoining rooms so we would have to share the bath. I don't think I have ever been that mad in my life as when I stepped out of the shower to find her sitting on the sink waiting on me." He blushed deeply and said, "She wouldn't let me out until I heard her out. She apologized and, I have to admit that I laughed at her. I mean I laughed in her face," Looking over at his friend and brother, he said, "I know it wasn't nice, and I know I should have given her another chance, but I had had too much dropped on me. After that, she left me alone, but is still in town. I really don't want to run into her if she is in the house." Billy closed his eyes and sighed."Well, in my own erratic meandering way that's how I came to have a half-sister. I think I'm talked-out for a while guys. Anything to say in response?"

Jason simply sat for long moments, in shock at how the man he considered as a second father had been so cold to his family. To think, Lance Cranston had such skeletons in his closet. He went to Billy and held him for a moment, greatly admiring his friend's strength in dealing with the bed of lies he had found thrust into lately. Finally, he said, "I don't know about your sister, Billy, that's one you'll have to work out on your own, but I want you to know that I'm here for you Bro."

Alex stared out of the window, quietly taking in all he had heard, planning on verbally ripping into Lance as well as Shanna if he ever saw her again. He sighed and turned to his brother and new friend, "I don't have anything to say guys; except, that I need a hot shower and bed after all this. Billy, would you mind walking me back?"

Billy shrugged and got up stumbling over Jason. The bigger boy caught him before he hit the floor, and for just a moment Billy felt he could get lost in his friend's strength. Shoving the thought down viciously, he straightened himself out and said, "Thanks for the catch. It seems like you've been doing that a lot lately." Looking down, he continued, "It seems as if coordination has temporarily left me.as well, as the ability to think straight. I'll be back as soon as I walk Alex home."

"Sure Billy, I'll have the spare room ready for you. Bye Alex, see you around?" Jason tells them as he walks them to the front door. "Sure Jason, I'm glad I met you. I just hope meeting the rest of Billy's friends will go as well." He stopped and smiled at the midnight eyed boy before saying, "And thank you for being in Billy's life. He needs good friends like you. Good night, and thank your parents for me. " Alex turned away and headed down the walk, letting Billy come behind him to fall in step again as they walk back to the house.

Alex smiling at the way in which Jason cared for Bill, carefully watching out for him. As they reached Billy's house, Billy hung back, not wanting to go in. He knew that Billy couldn't avoid his, THEIR father forever either. "Are you coming in?" he asked hopefully.

Billy negated that with a small shake of his head, "No, maybe tomorrow. I'm too wiped out right now to deal with him. Please let me beg off Alex." Then seeing something in Alex's eyes he wasn't sure of he added, "Tell you what, I'll come by tomorrow no matter what. Let's say around five?"

"Good enough for me Bro'. Good night." Alex let himself in, heading straight to the room Lance had said was now his, ignoring his father and step-mother in the living room.

Seeing his second son enter, Lance sighed. The whole situation was getting out of hand. He realized that he had no one to blame but himself. That didn't make it any easier though. He got up and knocked on Alex's door, wishing Billy had come in as well.

"Alex, how is he?" Lance asked, wondering if Alex was now angry at him as well.

"You have some nerve asking me that, Lance. Billy and I had a long talk.I know about Shanna and how you let her nearly ruin his life. I have to think, I really do." He softened his voice, realizing that if Billy and Lance were going to heal their rift, then he shouldn't add to the pressure. "Please let me be, for now," he asked.

Closing the door, he went to the window, cursing to himself, "Damn, this is worse than I imagined."

Meanwhile, across town Adam wondered what Billy was up to- if he should call him. He also had to admit to curiosity about what Jase and Kim had said earlier- about Billy having a twin. Deciding to call it a night, he went to bed. He would call Billy first thing in the morning.

Jason awaited Billy's return, and wondered how much emotional damage this was doing to his friend. As Billy entered the room and crawled into Jason's bed without so much as a thought. Jason had wondered when the walls would finally break down. Apparently it was well past time for it. He watched as Billy kicked off his shoes and turned over so he could face Jason. Jase could tell he needed to vent, scream rant and yell, but for some reason his friend was at a loss for words. Suddenly, he looked into Jason's eyes and reached for him, tears suddenly overflowing as he started to cry. Jason held his friend close, hating to see his little Bro' in so much pain.

Much later, Jase was unsure how much though, tears stopped and Billy was quiet, as if he was sleeping. Jason reached over to turn off the light and realized Billy was not going to talk. He must have cried himself out, Jason mused as he flexed the arm that had fallen asleep from where Billy had held onto him during his crying jag. As Jason turned on his back, Billy followed suit. "You're not asleep are you?" Jason asked as he sat up and looked over his friend.

"No" Billy said thickly as he sat up and attempted to wipe the tearstains from his face. "I don't think I will sleep well tonight Jase." He smiled sheepishly and said, "Sorry for using you as a pillow." Billy started to get off the bed. Jason grabbed his hand and pulled him back. "No way, you don't need to be alone now. We can talk or I'll just be here for you Billy- like always." Billy looked down at his best friend, unable to put into words what he felt. For the life of him, he would never know what possessed him to wrap himself around Jason and start bawling again.

Jason was surprised. Billy wasn't known for being so open emotionally. To see him so vulnerable scared him as well, and made him feel as if Billy had placed the ultimate trust in him- to let him see him like this. Jason ran his fingers through Billy's hair and rocked him gently. Unconsciously, Billy responded in kind. He needed the contact of another person so desperately right then. After his second crying jag of the evening had ended, he remained wrapped around Jason as if letting go would cause him to fall into the Abyss.

For the rest of his life, Jason would never know what had motivated him to stay with Billy all night and the next morning, even after awakening entwined together in his bed. Apparently his parents let them sleep in and called the school, because neither boy stirred until well into the morning.

Adam, Tommy and the others were concerned when neither Jason nor Billy showed up for school. They did finally get to meet Alex however, since he started school that morning. He was just as concerned for his brother's well-being as the others. Recognizing his appearance to that of their friend, at lunch the rest of them went over and introduced themselves to Alex.

"Excuse us, Alex Cranston?" Aisha asked shocked at the fact that the boy sitting in front of her was so much like Billy yet nothing like him. They didn't dress alike or speak the same.

"Yes, can I help you?" Alex answered, wondering who these kids were. People weren't that friendly at his old school.

"Hi, were some of Billy's friends." Tommy said extending a hand to Alex. "We wanted to come say hi and welcome you to Angel Grove." Tommy noted the boy was not as friendly as Billy even after you got past the shell he had up.

"Hi there. Thanks. To be honest, I'm a little lost around here. I thought Billy would be able to help me out, but Jason's mom said they were both too wiped out to come today."

Adam raised an eyebrow quickly-letting his mind wonder why they would be so tired that they couldn't come to school. No, it's not like that Adam. Stop it, Adam admonished himself as he looked up to find Alex giving him a quick once over. Shyly he said, "Uh hi, I'm Adam Park. Nice to meet you Alex."

"Nice to meet you too," Alex couldn't help but smile at the other boy, "Billy talks about you a lot, now I can see why." Adam was scrumptious . He decided to kick his brother if he didn't scoop Adam up quickly. Alex got a quick tour of the high school with the promise of hanging out after school with the guys.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi all! Ok, I have finally gotten off my tail and gotten back to writing. Eternal thanks to Cobalt Blue for beta reading this and future chapters. As always reviews and constructive criticism are welcome.

Fair warning: M/M consensual relationships abound in Bleu Soliloqui. Rated "R" for M/M consensual affection, sex etc.

As the school day progressed, Adam became more and more concerned with Billy and Jason's absence from school. It wasn't like either boy to miss school, and although he knew that they'd done it many times in the past, for some reason the idea of them spending last night together was eating at him. Being as he had fifth period lunch, he decided to pop in on them to be sure they are ok. "Really, I just want to be sure that they are ok. It's not like anything would happen between them. Jason isn't like that," Adam said to himself as he wondered if Pre-1800 US History, was stuck in a time warp. Ha! Now that would be curse for their enemies to place on the Rangers- the never-ending class.

While Adam was trying to decide what was worse, his History class, or the worries that kept slamming at his peace of mind, Billy and Jason had finally managed to drag themselves to consciousness. The house was quiet, both of Jase's parental units having gone to work and Billy was still loosely wrapped around Jason, surprising his midnight eyed best friend to no end. Touching was simply not the "Cranston way" as Billy had said more than once. Billy had become silent, and Jason looked down to see him staring off into space. He gently lifted Billy's chin to look him in the eye and hated what he saw in the emerald eyes, almost as much as he was surprised by the feelings their proximity was creating in himself.

"Billy, what is it? You know I want to help you. . . you can tell me anything that is on your mind. I won't hold it against you. You do know that don't you?" Jason kept his gentle grip on Billy's face while he waited for an answer, not letting his friend turn away from him.

" I know Jason. It's just that at this juncture in my life I find my emotional state to be one of complete turmoil. I'm unaccustomed to not being in control of my emotions or myself. I'm sorry about using you for a pillow all night, and intruding on our friendship with such an unseemly display. I didn't mean to soak you with my emotional outburst." Billy wiped at his face, he hated that he had totally lost control like that in front of Jason. True enough, Jason was his best friend, and had seen him at his absolute worst when his mother had been killed. This was no different, but he was almost an adult now. Crying was for ten year olds.

He looked up into Jase's eyes, and the complete trust and unconditional love that he saw there set off other stirrings in his soul. Maybe it was the fact that he was emotionally raw. Maybe he was just confused about what was going on with both Aisha and Adam. Maybe he was lonely, afraid and needed something to assure him all was not lost in his world. He wasn't sure and for the life of him, William Cranston could not say precisely what moved him to kiss his best friend.

To his great surprise and even greater pleasure, Jason reciprocated his gesture and escalated the embrace, by gently probing Billy's mouth with his tongue. Billy opened his lips and sucked Jason's tongue into his mouth, as the two boys groaned into the kiss. Rolling over to break for air, the gravity of what had just happened hit Billy like a load of bricks. He opened his eyes and panicked. "God, Jase I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to come on to you. I-"

Billy's never got to finish his sentence as Jason cut him off with a second passionate lip-lock that succeeded in silencing the normally erudite young man. Jason grinned wickedly as he saw the glazed look that had come into Billy's eyes. Jase pulled back slightly and intoned, "I never figured you to be the type who could be kissed senseless." He slipped his arm under Billy's head and entwined his fingers with Billy's. "Now what were you going to say?'

Billy blinked, unable to process what had just happened. His best friend since they were in 3rd grade had kissed him to the point of silencing him, setting off an embarrassing reaction in his own jeans. He never had imagined that Jason would have any type of same sex interest let alone in him. "Uh, I, uh. I can't remember. But, since when have you ever had any interest in the same gender?"

It was Jason's turn to blush and stammer as he looked Billy in the eye. "I've suspected I was bi or maybe gay for a couple of years now. I planned on talking to you about what I've been feeling toward you, but things have gotten complicated recently. Speaking of which, what about Adam and Aisha?"

Before Billy could reply, there was a sudden change in air pressure in the room that indicated a teleport. Adam appeared in a flash of black light to find them entwined together on Jason's bed. The hurt look on the Black Ranger's face was more than Billy could bear. Through angry tears he said, "No need to worry about me Jason. Let's say I'm out of the running for Billy's affections."

Billy groaned, and tried to get up, but Adam hit the stud on his communicator and teleported back to school before he could manage it. In a blind fury Adam stalked out of the boys bathroom and collided with Alex who was on his way to his last class of the day.

"Adam? What's up, you-," Alex asked, only to be cut off with Adam trying to shrug off his grasp on his arm. Seeing that Adam was upset about something, he refused to let go. Instead he said, "Look, you ran me over in a blind dash for class. The least you can do is tell me why you are so friggin' upset!"

Adam turned and looked Alex. Then leaning in closely he said, "Because I went over to Jase's to check on Billy and saw something I really wish I hadn't." He stopped and sighed, "Look, I haven't told anyone this, and I'd appreciate it if you'd keep it under your hat, but I've sort of had a crush on Billy for a long time. I told him about it yesterday and he told me he'd let me know something when his life calmed down." Finally, he said bitterly, "Well, I sort of walked in on them swapping spit. I guess he's made a decision after all."

Alex let go of Adam's arm and pulled him into the hug that he so desperately needed. Finally he said, "I'm sorry it worked out that way. If you want to talk about it after school, I'm willing to listen.and if you want, give you a little advice. Let's just call it the voice of experience." He sighed and asked, "I'll meet you after class ok?"

Adam shrugged noncommittally and tried to turn away. "Adam, either agree to meet me or tell me to bugger off. What happened is not something to just shrug off."

"Fine, I'll meet you. Now let me go," Adam demanded and then left Alex bewildered and wondering if this was a new development between Jase and Billy or if it had been happening for a while. Then he had a thought, How in the Hell did Adam make it all the way to Jason's house and back in one period. Alex let it slip to the back of his mind as he went on his way to honor physics. While the guys have been dealing with school and such, William, Jase and Rocky have been moving into the Command Center and trying to formulate a plan of action on how they can start earning some funds and start over.

William was being unnaturally quiet, which caused both his lover and friend to worry about him. Ever since he tried to throw himself off the cliffs overlooking the Command Center he had been a subdued copy of his former self. Rocky went over to him and stood in his way, and hoped he would get the usual response. Instead their leader merely went around him with a whispered "excuse me" and continued to unpack and arrange their quarters. Rocky would have fallen over had Jase not come behind him and shook his head sadly to indicate something had to be done about William.

"Will, I think we've done enough for one day. How about we get out, get some lunch?" Jase asked as Will stopped what he was doing and brushed himself off to come over to them. "If that is what is best Jason, I'll concur." Jase grabbed Will and spun him around so that they were face to face. He had already slapped him, that only seemed to work for a short period of time. Now it seemed as if he was back to being emotionally out to lunch on a permanent basis.

"WILLIAM AUGUSTUS CRANSTON! Would you snap out of this? You are scaring me and Rocko. I thought you had come back to yourself after I had slapped you the other day. You are not the same man who is my leader, my best friend and lover. You are not the same man who would kick in the gates of hell for any one of us. Please, come back to me, to us." Jason held Will by the shoulders, keeping his gaze locked on the emerald green orbs. .. . hoping he could get some kind of reaction, something to 'click' in those eyes.

Will looked down and spoke once he was unable to bear Jase's unwavering gaze. "Look, I can't do this anymore. I failed as a leader, our planet was overrun and decimated by those machines. You can't make me feel ok about that. I just want to be alone like I deserve to be. Why do you even want me- " Whatever Will was going to say was cut off by a resounding slap to the face from Jason. Will staggered back, holding his palm to the place Jason's hand had touched. To their surprise he round-housed Jason into a console.

"As long as you live DO NOT HIT ME AGAIN! Jason Scott, so help me. .. if you ever touch me like that again I'll beat you within an inch of your life. You know I hate to be hit, to be abused like that. What possessed you to slap me?" William demanded as he stood over his lover and second in command.

"You did! Will you were acting as if you were someone else for Goddesses' sake! I figured it worked once, it could work again. There was no need to backhand me into next week." Jason said as he got up and brushed past Will. he didn't like what he saw in Will's expression. That feral anger that he had worked so hard to eradicate after Will was cleansed of the taint of the Green power. "Now, that you seem to have regained some sense of who you were, may we finish up?" Jason asked as he picked up a box and continued to their quarters. Will picked up the final box of his belongings and followed Jason in to the room. Once he sat the box down, he came up to Jase and held him. It took all of his control and patience to admit to being wrong that day. .. "Look, I was being an ass. Forgive me please?"

"Sure, if you'll excuse my slapping you." Jason said as he held his lover close to his chest, as he wished they had been able to save their world and themselves the anguish of defeat. Will mumbled "okay, forgiven" as he tightened his grip on Jason and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of being with his beloved. After a short time, they released each other and muttered apologies among small kisses. They emerged from their quarters hand in hand, ready to get out and get some fresh air. "Very good, you two kissed and made up. Now, may we at least get out for some fresh air? Doc DeSanto's orders." Rocky said as he looked for coordinates to set them down in downtown Angel Grove. While they tried to enjoy themselves, their counterparts were having a hard time on all fronts.

Jason and Billy were left to deal with having been discovered by Adam, Adam and Alex were on their way to the park to discuss what happened, leaving everyone else to wonder what the hell was going on around them. Tommy spotted Adam and Alex heading away from school, he debated as to whether or not to follow them. eventually he decided to go with the others to the Youth Center. Rocky and Aisha found him on the steps of the school staring in the direction of the park. "Hey Tommy, what's up? Where are Adam and Alex, I thought they were coming with us." Rocky asked as he noticed the concerned look on Aisha's face.

"They were headed toward the park. Something is up, Adam was really quiet after lunch today. Like he had a bad shock or something. He met up with Alex and they headed off together. I don't know what's going on, but I cant really call Adam without blowing our identities. Let them be for now. If they don't show up at the Juice Bar, we'll go looking for them later." Tommy said as he hopped off the stairs and headed in the direction of Ernie's Juice Bar and Youth Center.

Aisha shrugged, she was really concerned with the fact that neither Billy or Jason had come to school. For Billy to miss class meant he was really ill, or there was a major catastrophe in his life. Since Aisha knew he had just had a major issue in his life, she hoped he hadn't become sick as well. The others noticed her quiet demeanor on the way to their usual hang out, but let her be. except for Rocky. He had known her too long to let such silence go unnoticed. He came up next to her and looped his arm around hers as they walked to the Youth Center.

"Ok, Ish', what's up with you? You are too quiet about all this." Rocky queried gently as she looked away from him, afraid that her feelings would be betrayed in a glance at one of her oldest friends. "Nothing Rocky, I guess I'm worried about Billy. He has all this bad shit going on in his life, then he doesn't come to school. That's like you missing dinner. .. it's unnatural."

Aisha finished as they got to the Youth Center, letting the matter drop once they were with the others. "Fine, but we will finish this discussion later Aisha." Rocky whispered in her ear as they headed inside.

Meanwhile.Adam and Alex had gone off to a secluded area of the park to chat. Alex was concerned about his new friend, and wondered what had prompted Billy and Jason to hook up. Alex looked over to the young man who was struggling for the words to express what he was feeling. Betrayal, anger, confusion and bitterness were at the top of the list. Alex sat next to him, as he tried to convey that he wanted to help Adam understand what had just transpired. "Adam, do you want to talk to me about this? I'll understand if you don't." Alex said as he gazed off into the trees that surrounded them, leaving an opening for Adam to beg off it was going to be too hard to talk him about having caught Billy and Jason kissing a short time before.

"No, I just can't find the right words to express what I'm feeling. I knew that there was a possibility of Aisha being a factor in us not being together, but Jason.I never saw that coming at all. At least they looked ashamed of themselves when I showed up." Adam let out a sigh, wondering if it was the best thing to confide in Billy's brother about his feelings for Billy. After all, they did seem to be close and they were brothers after all. Adam went silent, letting his thoughts run around for a bit, while Alex continued to stare off into space, seemingly mulling over Adam's words.

"Maybe they didn't see it coming either Adam. It could have been the heat of the moment for them. I know there have been a couple of times when I wound up being intimate with someone as a result of an emotionally charged event. We just found out we're brother's, not cousins, dad got remarried without telling anyone, and to boot, our evil half sister Shanna is back in town to stay for awhile. That may have been too much for Billy. Jason is his best friend, and maybe, just maybe the emotional rollercoaster was too much for him. It could have been anything that resulted in them kissing. My question is this, how did you manage to get into Jason's home without being let in?'

Adam faltered before answering. He knew that telling the truth was out, but what else could he say? "Um, I found the back door unlocked.I just went to Jason's room since I knew where it is. But it's irrelevant now anyway. They have a bond I could never understand. they have always been kind of inseparable from what Billy has said. I just have to accept their feelings and try to move on Alex. It's what I'm used to." Adam said with a sigh as he stood to face Alexander.

Alex stood as well, wondering what was running around in Adam's mind. He knew it would not be easy to just write off his attraction to Billy, nor his resentment of Jason for winning Billy's heart. He knew all too well about such heartache and pain. being the veteran of a thousand psychic wars. A wry grin light his features as he turned to grab his backpack. Adam caught the look on his face and questioned him on it. "What was that look for?"

"Just thinking.the phrase "veteran of a thousand psychic wars" popped into my head in regard to your issues." Adam smirked."Billy hates that song." Alex raised an eyebrow in mock outrage. "Good thing I'm not him then isn't it? We are nothing alike, yet similar in case you were wondering Adam." Adam blushed at Alex's verbalization of what they all had been wondering. He smiled bashfully at the young man before him, glad that Alex was a little more easy going than Billy.

"Thanks Alex for letting me vent about that. I'm glad you're nothing like Billy. C'mon, how about we catch up with the others at the Youth Center?" Adam starts to head off toward their usual hang out spot, but his progress is stopped by Alex. "Adam, would you like to find out how much I'm nothing like Billy?" Adam stares into the emerald eyes, letting his mind trip over what Alex just said. "Just so I am not making assumptions, what did you mean by that Alex?" Alex grinned and pulled Adam to him for a kiss that could have leveled the city with its intensity. Adam pulled away to breathe, and looked at Alex for an explanation of his actions.

"Now, does that clarify what I meant Mr. Park?" Alex said as he held a hand out to Adam, if he were willing to take the chance.

Ok, mean of me I know to drop off at a cliffhanger.but you have to have SOMETHING to look forward to! ( Look for the next chapter soon, and of course reviews are welcome.

BleuWoulfe


	6. Chapter 6

Hi all! Ok, I have finally gotten off my tail and gotten back to writing. Eternal thanks to Cobalt Blue for beta reading this and future chapters. As always reviews and constructive criticism are welcome.

Fair warning: M/M consensual relationships abound in Bleu Soliloqui. Rated "R" for M/M consensual affection, sex etc…

Adam stared at Alex's proffered hand in a slight daze as he wondered if it would be worth it and how it would affect things between himself, Billy and Jason. Just jumping into something with Alex could be the best thing he had ever done, or a detrimental decision that could bring disaster to them all. Deciding to take advice from an old movie and live a little, Adam grinned and took Alex's hand. "I just hope I am not making the biggest mistake of my life Alex," he said as he gazed into the emerald eyes that were sparkling with joy and a hint of mischievousness.

"Believe me Adam, you won't regret this at all. Now let's join the others. I haven't met most of them formally and I am intrigued by these infamous smoothies I kept hearing about while I was in Chicago." Alex started walking, pulling Adam behind him.

Adam snickered, pulled Alex around and oriented him in the opposite direction. "Well you'll never meet anyone if you head that way. You're headed toward Stone Canyon, not Ernie's." Alex smiled and followed Adam to the Youth Center.

Meanwhile Jason and Billy were sitting in the kitchen trying to hash out what to do about their newly discovered affection for each other, Adam's feelings, and what to do about Aisha. For long moment's Billy was silent as he stared into the blackness of his coffee, as if he could scry the answers from the deep brown liquid. Jason smiled remembering how emphatic Billy had been in his explanation of why coffee should be enjoyed without cream or sugar.

The whole thing had been sparked when Jason brought him coffee during a study session and Billy actually spat it out before realizing it had been rude to do so. Billy had sheepishly apologized to his friend and then launched into an impassioned speech about how coffee should be savored in an unadulterated state and not ruined by creams and sweeteners. Billy looked up and caught Jason's wistful expression.

"What brought on your change in temperament Jason? You have a nostalgic expression upon your countenance." Billy said as he got up to get more coffee and nearly dropped the mug as he poured in the Columbian Jason kept around the house for when Billy came by.

Jason gently reached around him and removed the mug from Billy's hands as he steered him back to the kitchen table. "I think that's enough of that Billy. You're starting to get edgy from all the caffeine. I don't like it when you're hopped up on coffee." He smiled and then continued, "I was thinking of the first time you gave me your explanation of why we should drink coffee sans cream and sugar. That just made me realize how much of our lives we've shared with each other over the years, and how close we already are." He gave an ironic chuckle, "Still, that doesn't help us with our situation though."

"I know Jase. I'm positive Adam's sudden appearance was because of concern for our lack of attendance at school today. I have yet to speak to Kimberly as well about this- her grandmother's illness required her absence from school today as well." Billy sighed and ran his hands through his sandy locks- another sure sign he was nervous and agitated. "I suggest we need to make an appearance at the Youth Center." He rambled on, "As I have failed to attend school and have broken one promise to my brother- I was supposed to show him around the school grounds today, but since I-"

Jason put his hand over Billy's mouth cutting him off before the self depreciating rant can gather any more steam. "I'm sure he will understand once you tell him you were emotionally drained and just didn't think you could cope with dealing with school today." He smiled and took Billy's hand, pulling him to his feet, "Now, let's get going and no more running yourself down, Mr. Cranston." Jason took a moment to leave a note to his mom telling her where they were gong before he steered Billy in the direction of the door. 

Arriving to find everyone but Alex and Adam at the usual table. Before either boy could say anything, Kim ran up and flung herself around the two boys. "Jason! Billy!" She pulled back and smiled at both boys, before letting her gaze rest on Billy, "You feeling better?" They both nodded nervously and hoped Kim would write it off to all the stress they had been under for the last week or so. 

As they sat down, Adam and Alex entered the Youth center and came over to the group. Alex wasn't sure about meeting them all at once, but since he was there he couldn't just turn tail and run. He leaned down from behind Billy, patted him on the shoulder briefly and whispered, "Thanks," into his ear before releasing him.

Billy briefly wondered what that was about, but was unable to pursue the line of thought as he and Alex were suddenly inundated with a barrage of questions. Alex backed off a little, considering he had just met most of them, and was uncomfortable with discussing private matters with what amounted to total strangers. He realized that they really meant no offense, and their questions were out of an eagerness to get to know someone they saw as a potential friend- as well as a sibling of one of their own. He glanced at Billy when the questions suddenly abated. "Why don't you tell them what you're comfortable with, Billy."

Looking down, Alex wondered if his reticence to be open with people he didn't know would alienate him as usual. Adam tapped his leg and smiled. "Stop it, I'm sure everyone will respect your wish for a little time to get to know them." Then smiling he asked, " Now, how about I treat you to one of the smoothies you have heard so much about?" Adam hopped up and ordered smoothies for them. 

Billy and Jason followed the two of them with their eyes and wondered what had transpired between them to make Adam so attached to Alex.

Alex sat quietly and listened to Rocky and Kim chatter about something unrelated to the minor soap opera that had become their lives as he caught Billy staring at him with an unreadable expression on his face. Alex tilted his head slightly and gave Billy a nod that said not here, not now. Billy returned the gesture, and for the hundredth time in the last ten minutes, what the hell was going on with his brother and Adam. A couple of days before Adam had professed his affections for Billy… … no Billy had ruined that earlier in the day. He shook his head to clear it of the thoughts and feelings that were threatening to overwhelm him. Billy leaned back and observed the others as he listened to the mundane conversations taking place around him.

However, he felt that something was off from the normal group dynamics as he noticed Aisha and Rocky get up and move to another table. It seemed their discussion was intense- like something important was at stake. Jason tapped him on the leg as Billy stared at their other friends, and he wondered what could have Aisha so upset. Damn, she must have figured out something or she is wondering why I have basically ignored her since that day I talked to William. Another realization hit Billy… …. William! He must be losing his mind since all of this happened! He closed his eyes and thought about Will. He got nothing but rage and helplessness in response. Will, please let me know you can "hear" me at least. I have enough to worry about without wondering if you have gone ahead and tried to kill yourself again, Billy thought as he sat there and attempted to split his attention in three directions.

Not getting a response from Billy before, Jason let his hand stay on his lover's knee. He knew that Billy was being stretched in more directions than any teenager had a right to be, and wished there was something he could do to help him cope. 

Billy sighed inwardly as it seemed as if Will was ignoring him or was asleep maybe. Turning his attention back to the Youth Bar, he watched the interplay between Adam and Alex as if they were now a couple. Then, Rocky and Aisha left abruptly without a goodbye to anyone… Billy looked down to see Jason's hand resting on his knee, and smiled.

Turning to Jason, he said, "Sorry, I was a million miles away-I'm trying to figure out what happened with all of us. Rocky and Aisha just bolted out without so much as a word, Adam and Alex are all cozy since that incident earlier and I can't get an answer from William. It seems as if the recent chaos in my life has taken a permanent hold." Billy sighed a little as he shifted in his chair and reached for his drink. Jason stretched out and looked up to where Adam at Alex were ending their conversation. "Say Adam, can I talk to you for a moment?" Jason asked, wondering if he would say no to his request.

Adam shrugged and got up. "Sure Jason, mind if we go outside?"

Jason smiled, "That might be a good idea." Turning to the others, he said, "Excuse us," and then followed Adam to the outdoor seating area of the Youth Center.

Sitting opposite of each other as if the situation would turn explosive at any moment, Jason spoke and he hoped that they could diffuse the situation…"Adam, I'm sorry that you were hurt this morning. We…, it just happened that way. I have no idea what started it, but I'm not unhappy about it and neither is he. Billy," he paused for a second before adding, "and I, are worried about are you and Aisha. We didn't mean for either of you to get hurt. "

Adam cut off Jason by holding his hand up in a "stop" gesture. "Jase, Its ok. Alex and I talked about it… we are going to make a go at it. The only person you have to worry about is Ish'. I think she's hip to what happened and the fact that she hasn't had a chance to talk to Billy in the last couple of days is rubbing her raw. She bolted out of here after she talked to Rocky. I should probably talk to her tonight." Then looking around, he smiled, "What are you guys up to later?"

Jason shrugged. Since they had spent a great deal of time hashing out what to do about Adam's unannounced appearance that morning, he and Billy hadn't had a chance to make any plans much beyond that. "No idea. From what I remember, Billy told Alex that he would come home with him soon to talk to their father. He's pretty worked up about it. If it goes badly, I planned to be available for him. What about you?"

"Nothing specific. If Alex is going home with Billy in tow I'll make myself scarce until it's over. No need to add fuel to the fire you know." Looking down at his watch he said, "I should be heading off, my mom will wonder where I've gotten off to. I'll call you later if anything happens."

Adam stood and went back to Alex. "So, what have you got planned for the rest of the day?"

Alex smiled and looked over at Billy as he addressed both other boys, "Well, that will depend on if Billy is willing to come back with me or not. No pressure, but ignoring this isn't going to make it go away William."

Billy sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I know, I know Alex." Standing, he added, "Fine lets go and set off World War III. I'll meet you at Jason's in a half hour."

"Cool with me." He reached out and put a comforting hand on his twin's shoulder, "We'll be ok Billy… I really do believe we will come out of this alright." Then turning, he left with Adam close behind. Billy turned to Jason and smiled, and the two boys left side by side. 

Arriving at Jason's, Billy sat on the couch and sighed as if the world was ending and all he could do was wait.

Jason went to comfort him but Billy stood and went to the window staring down the street as if could will some natural disaster to keep him from keeping his word. He really didn't want to see his father, but deep down he knew that avoiding the elder Cranston wouldn't help matters. Of course, there was still the issue of three look-alike Cranston's running around Angel Grove to be dealt with as well. It did help that William could pass for an older cousin if necessary but he and Alex looked so much alike it was painful to look at Alex sometimes. Briefly, Billy wondered how his life had suddenly become so complicated. A small grin played across his features as Billy got an idea of how to remedy the confusing situation.

Jason came up behind him and stood a foot or so away so that Billy knew he was nearby but not too far away. Billy stood there until he saw Alex coming up the street. "Oh well, it was nice while it lasted." Billy muttered as he turned around and gave Jason a grateful look. "Thanks for being around. I'm sure I'll need you later today. Wish me luck." Billy allowed himself a brief embrace before leaving to meet Alex on the steps.

Unknown to either boy, another figure observed them from shadows of the stairs, and briefly Mrs. Scott wondered what was going on with her son and his best friend. Some part of her suspected a great deal more than either was letting on about.

"Hi…does he know I'm coming back with you?" Billy asked as they turned from the steps and headed toward their home.

Alex shrugged and looked ahead as they walked. "No, he doesn't. I want both of you to talk. This way neither one of you can run. I know this is very likely going to be a nasty, knock down- drag out, all-out fight but if you both keep avoiding each other nothing will get resolved. Unless you plan to permanently stay with our uncle in Forest Creek or move in with the Scott's you're going to have to deal with him."

Billy cursed but kept walking. Then smiling up at his brother, he said, "Remind me never to piss you off. You play dirty, Alex." Then sighing he added as they entered the back door of the Cranston residence, "But not telling him may be for the best."

Apparently no one was home, and then after looking around, Alex found a note…

Alex we went grocery shopping. We'll be back by 7:00. If you need anything call my cell. 500-4290. Thanks, Lance.

"They went grocery shopping, should be back any minute." Alex told him. Billy sat on the couch in the living room as he stared at the television blankly. He looked up at the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. Getting up, he joined Alex in the doorway between the living room and dining room. "Looks like time is up, Bro'." Billy said as the door opened and Lance saw them both waiting for him.

"Billy?" was all Lance could utter. He didn't think Billy would be coming back anytime soon. Let alone be waiting for him to return.

"Once you have had a chance to put down your parcels, I would like to speak to you. I'll be in my room." Billy turned and followed Alex up the stairs to their room, and sat on the bed.

C'mon you didn't think I'd get into the whole argument here did you? You'll have to be patient and wait for it…

In Chapter 7: Finally! Billy and Lance get into why they were deceived all their lives… Adam and Alex get closer, William, Jase and Rock try to acclimate to their new lives and so much more. 


	7. Chapter 7

Billy picked up the framed photo he kept of his parents shortly after they were married and started to run his hands over it. He sighed and clutched the photo as he looked at his brother. Something in his mind turned over at that. Alex was his brother, not his cousin as he- NO they had been led to believe. The anger at having been deceived this whole time returned ten- fold.. .. unfortunately for his father, it was an anger that would not be sated by mere words of apology and promises of making things better.

Billy put down the picture and paced until he heard a knock on the door. He looked up as his- no THEIR- father entered the room. He had the look of a man walking the last mile. Before his father could say a word, Billy crossed the room in a blind rage and lifted the man from the floor by the throat, pinning him to the wall. Alex vainly tried to free his father from the choke-hold, but no avail. Finally, he resorted to street tactics and brought up his knee up with just enough force to make Billy let go.

Releasing his father, Billy whimpered in pain and shock. Curling into a ball on the floor, he asked, "Whose side are you on Alex? In case you hadn't noticed he betrayed us, not just me, but you too."

Lance stood back and gasped for air as he surveyed his sons. His attempt at a "thank you" to Alex was stopped cold by the glacier-like tone of Alex's voice, "Don't thank me. I didn't do it out of compassion for you. I merely would not like Billy in jail for justifiable homicide." Turning to his fallen brother, his tone softened, "Billy, that was the only way I could get you off of him --- despite what you feel now, choking him to death won't get us any answers and it WILL get you 20 to life. My apologies for taking such drastic measures to separate you two." Turning back to the room in general he added, "Now if you don't mind, can we get going with this talk?"

Alex sat back in the recliner by the window, while Billy crawled onto the bed and sat still trying to focus on what Alex was saying. Lance looked from one young man to the other, and wondered if they could ever get past all this. The answer his mind kept coming up with was a resounding, "NO," but he had to at least try. He hated seeing his sons suffer like this, and realized deep down that he was the cause of a lot of it. He sat in a chair and looked out the window dreading the confession of his own infidelity.

"Sometime today Lance. We have better things to do than watch you formulate your thoughts." Alex said, his disdain, anger and frustration showing plainly on his face.

"Well if I had had some time to prepare for this, I could just rattle it off chapter and verse Alexander. Excuse me for not having a script prepared." Lance said with such bitterness, he was surprised Billy didn't come after him again.

"To put it colloquially," Billy said, "Bullshit, you knew about all of this all of our lives. You had to have known we'd find out eventually, so you have had seventeen point five years to prepare for this eventuality. I find it difficult to believe you can just sit there and admonish him because he didn't give what you would consider justifiable warning! You did not deign to warn or prepare us, so, you have no right to expect such consideration from us. Either you begin to explain yourself or I am vacating the premises, not to return until you are prepared to be honest with us. For example: What were your reasons for being unfaithful to Mother?"

Lance sighed, he knew he was wrong and hearing it didn't help him feel any better about what he deemed a necessary deception. "Fine, you're correct William. I don't deserve that from either of you. In hiding this from you, I have done a horrible thing and I apologize again."

"In regards to the affair that produced Shanna. --- Well, I'm sorry and we've all been paying for my mistake ever since. I was young when your mom and I married, I shouldn't have rushed into it, neither one of us had really lived in the sense of getting to know what life was like outside of family, school and ourselves." He sighed and took a deep breath, "I fell for the charms of an older woman who thought getting some action from a naïve young man would be fun. Too bad she didn't realize she was still quite fertile and able to conceive. She was under the impression she was past the child bearing stages."

"I believed her, I didn't know any better than to question it. In truth she believed it, but never had it confirmed by her physician. We had decided to end it about a couple of weeks before she found out she was pregnant. I refused to believe it until her doctor called me. I fainted, freaked out and drove around in circles for hours before I went home. It really threw me for a loop considering that we were trying so hard to have a child and kept failing."

"Rachel was pretty sharp and knew something was wrong since I was late and I had that look on my face. She decided to let me tell her in my own time. I told her the truth, just not with me in the starring role. I knew my marriage would be over if I told her about the affair and the child."

Billy hopped up and started to pace the room. The more he heard of Lance's explanation the more agitated he became. The fact that his father had impregnated older woman and lied about it was upsetting him for reasons he couldn't fully understand. Alex put his hand on Billy's arm in an attempt to calm the turmoil he saw boiling in his brother's eyes. "Sit down William. You can verbally beat him down once he's done." Alex indicated the chair next to him so that he could at least have a chance at nabbing Billy if he jumped up and went after their father again. Turning back to Lance he said, "Would you continue?" as he leaned back in the chair and waited Lance's next words

Lance sighed and sat up as he gathered his thoughts before he continued on. "I pretended I was helping a friend out with a problem as the other woman and I discussed whether she should actually having the child or not--- finally neither one of us could stomach the idea of an abortion. We agreed that I would help her support the child, and Rachel would never know. It went well until she was killed in an airplane crash. I couldn't just let Shanna become a ward of the court. So we took her in as you know William."

Alex sighed and stretched---"Ok, now that we know that you had no self- control when you were first married, how about back-tracking to when we were conceived. That is a story I would really love to hear, Lance." Alex sat back and tried to bore a hole into his father with his gaze.

Lance sighed and stretched out for a moment before launching into his tale. "We had been trying to have kids for a long time, and when Rach finally got pregnant we found out she was having twins. It was a blessing and a curse for us, since we really couldn't afford two kids on what we were making. The delivery room charges alone would have put us in the poorhouse.

But my brother Dave and his wife found out they couldn't conceive--- we saw it as a way to alleviate our problem, help my brother and keep both of you.

It was so hard to do though once Rach gave birth to you boys. I cried when Dave came to get you Alex; Rachel locked herself in our room for hours once he left. We eventually adjusted to having just you William, but it was so hard to deal with for the first couple of years. We should have realized you both would figure it out, but when you didn't we got so comfortable in the lie-we couldn't picture telling you. Then when Rach was killed, it was too much to even think about losing you both." Lance finished as he stood up and paced the room, he was careful to stay out of Billy's reach and hopefully Alex's as well.

For long moments, no one spoke. Alex stood and faced his father, his fists clenching and unclenching at his side, as he desperately fought the urge to slap his father. His control finally winning out he turned and left the room silently. Billy stood, crossed the room to his father and whispered in his ear, "Great job Dad lets see you talk your way out of this one. I don't know if we'll ever forgive you for this- ever." Turning, Billy left the room to search for Alex. He found him standing in the front doorway as if he had run into a wall. There, on the porch was Shanna and she looked as if someone had slapped her as well. Billy growled softly under his breath, turned to leave by the back door when she shouted at him to stop.

"Billy! Please don't leave. I ran all the way here from my friend's place. Alex, Billy can we please go talk?" Shanna pleaded with the boys hoping that at least one of the boys would listen to her. Alex gave her a malicious and disdainful look before turning to Billy to find out what he wanted to do. Both young men were emotionally exhausted, but it seemed to be a night of culminations. Either there would be reconciliation or destruction of what was left of their lives this night.

Billy crossed his arms and beckoned her inside with his head, "Why are you here Shanna? What possessed you to run all the way here? Why do you even care if we live or die, YOU---" Billy pointed in her face for emphasis--- "Wished me dead a hundred times over since I've known you or rather of you. You wished my mother dead." A bitterness and deep hurt came into his voice, "I guess you're happy you got your wish. Now, tell me what prompted you to come here out of the blue."

Shanna sighed as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. "I ran into his --- wife while I was out. She tried to be all friendly towards me, as you know that doesn't work on me. I was being flip and asked why she wasn't tethered to dad as usual and she told me you were here talking about this whole mess. I ran over as fast as I could, I hoped I wouldn't miss you. I've been thinking about this whole situation since last week." She looked down, her voice echoing a deep hurt in her own voice- a hurt that said volumes about the truth, "I finally accepted what I had done wrong and figured I'd make an attempt at making peace with you. As the saying goes, I know it's a day late and a dollar short, but if I don't try I'll fail right? Please let's go somewhere and have coffee and talk?"

Billy stood there for what seemed like forever before he finally gave her a curt nod of agreement. "Alex can we take your car please? I know of a place close to Stone Canyon we can go to talk, but I'm going to need more than coffee for this." Billy grabbed his jacket and returned to the living room as his father entered the room.

"Hello Shanna. What brings you here?" Lance asked as both boys glared at him. Without another word, Lance looked down and headed toward the den. "Never mind, I don't think it's going to be a good night for any of us." Looking up he suddenly added, "Boys, all I can say again is that I'm sorry and hopefully you will be able to forgive me eventually. Have fun, I'll talk to you later." None of the Cranston's answered him as they left for the D-Lux Diner on the border of Stone Canyon and Angel Grove.

William, Jase, and Rocky were wandering around the Stone Canyon Mall in an effort to get some necessities- especially clothing. William stopped at the window of a salon and was perusing the array of styles in the window. He had been thinking about the fact that there were three Cranston's running around Angel Grove. He and Billy could pass for twins and then there was Alexander. While he had no idea how much alike they were, he didn't relish the idea of being mistaken for either boy for the remainder of his life.

Coming up behind him, Jase looked over his shoulder at the styles William was considering. "What are you thinking about doing? You look fine."

William smiled at the compliment. "Thanks, but there are three of us running around now and much as I like Billy, I don't want to be mistaken for him. I was thinking of letting it grow out and go back to its natural color. You know I'm not a natural blonde." Will joked as they continued on their way.

"I know, you're too smart to be a real blonde." Looking around he said, "We should stop and get some food for dinner. Were you able to get us set up with a credit and job history?"

William smiled at Jason's question. "No love, I need to have some help from Billy." Tapping his head, he said, "Speaking of which: he is royally pissed off right now. I wonder if he would be receptive to any messages?" William mused aloud as they wandered around the mall. Billy, can you hear me?

Billy stopped in mid-sentence as he picked up Will's thought. Not now, I'll call you later, sort of in the middle of something He continued as if nothing had happened, but his brother and half-sister noticed that he had faltered in his speech.

"Billy, what is wrong with you? You totally spaced for a minute?" Alex queried as he stabbed at his sundae.

Billy smiled at his brother and shrugged. "Nothing, total lack of concentration for a moment. I lost my momentum for whatever I was saying. I think this is the most I've said in one day in my whole life. What was I talking about anyway?" Billy lied as he contemplated his slice of chocolate cake. He really wasn't that hungry but he needed something to do with his hands so he wouldn't throttle anyone. He didn't understand where all this anger was coming from. Yes, he'd been lied to, he'd been deceived by people whom he'd trusted, but there was something else- something deeper to this fury that threatened to engulf him mind and soul. It was starting to scare him.

Shanna cleared her throat and spoke up. Even though it had been her idea to seek them out, now that they were actually all together she was a little bit nervous. "Um, we uh were talking about the whole fiasco with dad. How I was a royal brat and how I made your life a living hell."

Billy smiled thinly at that. There was no love lost between him and Shanna. As it stood if he saw her on fire he wouldn't spit on her to put her out. "Yeah, you were hell on wheels Shanna. I wondered what I had done to deserve what you were putting me through. Now I know, and for what it's worth I'm sorry for the loss of your mother." Billy said as he took a small bite of his cake and looked at his coffee. He remembered what he had said earlier about needing more than coffee for this talk. He sighed and wished he were anywhere but there. All he wanted was to curl up and cry like a baby.

Both Alex and Shanna noticed his demeanor and odd behavior. "Thank you Bill for your condolences. I'm so sorry I ever said the horrible things I said about your mom. I know she loved you dearly and I made life hell for everyone involved at the time. I would like to get to know you both. You're my family and right now your all I have." Shanna finished as she toyed with her ice cream. None of them were really hungry, but it seemed odd to go to a diner and not order something.

Alex nibbled at his sundae while he thought about the total one hundred eighty degree turn their lives had taken in the last few days. "Shanna, the past is just that. We need to think about the future and how this is going to affect all of us. I can't fathom even going back to Chicago and facing them. I'd blow my top like Billy did at him earlier. Dammit it all to hell, I think it's finally starting to hit me." Alex said as he pushed his food away and laid his head down on the table.

Neither Billy nor Shanna knew what to say, so they let him be for the moment.

Meanwhile, William was concerned because of Billy's curt answer and the fact that they are just meandering around the mall at this point. "Jase, Rocko, mind if we call it a night? We're only wandering aimlessly now." William said as he let his mind wander around to sense what was up with Billy. Jase shrugged and looked to Rocko for affirmation.

"Sure luv, we should think about dinner anyway." Jason said as he steered them toward the exit. William sighed, as he was unable to get anything from Billy.

"Alex, Billy like I said--- I want to make amends. I know it wont be easy but for now we need to stick together. I'm willing to make the effort if you guys are." Shanna said as she nabbed the check for them. "Let me, after all I dragged you here this time of night. Here is my info in case you decide we can start over." Shanna paid their tab as both young men followed her out to the car.

Billy was silent as he climbed into the front seat and leaned back against the headrest. Alex dropped Shanna off and then waited for Billy to give him some direction on where he wanted to be dropped off. "Bill? Are you going to Jason's or Forest Creek?" Alex queried as he headed towards Jason's place, figuring that Billy wouldn't want to drive that far so late at night. Billy lifted his head and looked to see where they were headed.

"Jason's please." was all he said as he let his head fall back against the headrest. He was on the verge of a "Grade A" breakdown and didn't want Alex to witness it. He only wanted to climb into bed and scream his frustration into a pillow until he was hoarse. Arriving at Jason's, Billy climbed out of the car without saying anything to his brother.

"Bill? Do you need me to come in with you?" Alex said as he stopped the car to let Billy out.

Billy sighed and rubbed at his eyes before giving a tired sounding "no" to Alex.

Alex gave him a long look before he agreed to let Billy off the hook for now. "Very well. Call me if you need me ok?"

Billy shrugged it off and gave Alex a thin smile as he headed toward the door. "I'll do that if I need to bro'." Saying nothing more he entered the Scott residence to find Jason on the couch sound asleep. Going over, Billy gently nudged him to wake up. "I'm back Jase, wake up and let's get some sleep."

Jase smiled up at him and rubbed his eyes, "You wake a guy up to tell him to go to sleep? You're evil, Billy." The gentle humor in his voice was like a balm to Billy's soul. They went upstairs and collapsed into Jason's bed until late into the next morning.


	8. Chapter 8

Hiya all! As always, credit to Cobalt Blue for agreeing to Beta me. And a special thanks to Jacks a.k.a the Girl in The Red Jacket for giving me the inspiration to kick this chapter off. As always, feedback keeps me going and inspires me!

Fair warning! Slash relationships abound in Bleu Soliloqui. Slightly A/U with alternate reality versions of some of the rangers.

Enjoy!

Bleu Soliloqui Chapter 8

The next morning found the rest of the Rangers at school, well all but two. Billy and Jason were sound asleep at Jason's home. Tommy stalked to his locker, in a foul mood about something. Kim braved his distemper to see what could have Tommy in such a bad mood.

"Tommy? What is wrong with you, that locker didn't do anything to you." Kim asked as she flinched from the fire in his eyes as he glared at her.

"No, but Billy did. He's been holed up with Jason protecting him for the last couple of days. They've missed two days of school! First Billy disrespected me, and then outright disobeyed me! Now, he's corrupted Jason!" Whatever else Tommy was about to say was silenced by the expression on Kim's face.

She had the coldest, most unforgiving look on her face possible. Tommy realized too late that he had chosen the wrong moment and most definitely the wrong person to say anything wrong about Billy or Jason. The others came over to witness Kim Hart struggle to control her rage at what Tommy had said to her about her closest friends.

She walked off, brushed past the others and made her way to class. Rocky, Aisha and Adam looked to Tommy for clarification on what had transpired. Tommy looked at them, opened his mouth but no sound issued forth. He snapped his mouth shut, grabbed his bag and tried to leave. Rocky, Adam and Aisha stepped in his way. Whatever had happened had set Kim off, and they needed to know what that was.

"Look Tommy, whatever you said to Kim has set her off in a bad way. What did you say or do to her?" Adam queried as he corralled Tommy back toward their lockers.

"I, I said the wrong thing about Billy and Jason to Kim. Look I need to be left alone. This whole situation has me put out. Now, I'd like to pull my foot out of my mouth with Kim, excuse me." Tommy said as he brushed past them, and gave Alex a cursory nod as the other Cranston joined them on the way to class.

Alex wondered briefly what had transpired, but decided to let it slide for now. "Morning.hmm no sign of Billy again. I hope he's ok." Alex muttered as he fell in step with Adam letting his gaze fall over the boy in an appreciative manner.

Adam noticed Alex's looks but reserved his reaction for later, they were in school after all.

"I don't know what happened Alex. Tommy apparently spouted off about Billy and Jase to Kim. Wrong person to do that to. She stalked off with a look on her face that could melt adamantium." Rocky said as they all made their way to class. Aisha was unable to look at Alex, since he reminded her of Billy and the choice he made in regard to who he gave his heart to.

Alex noticed her reticence, and was tempted to ask her when a not so gentle nudge from Rocky stopped him. Rocky had grabbed Alex pretty hard to keep him from saying anything to Aisha. At Alex's shocked expression Rocky shook his head to negate whatever Alex had planned to say.

"Not now. I'll explain later Alex. See you at lunch?" Rocky said in a tone that brooked no argument. Alex shrugged and went on his way with Adam. "Yeah see you at lunch, bye Rocky, Aisha."

Adam and Alex went to their AP Chemistry class while Rocky and Aisha went to Music Theory. While they were off being educated in the fine public school system of California--- William, Rocky and Jase were at the Command Center working on their Zords and also their "identities" since they couldn't claim to be Jason, Billy and Rocky.

"Say Will, did you ever figure out what our stories would be? Even if we stay in Stone Canyon or here, we need to establish a life in this reality." Jase said as he picked his way over a circuit board that controlled the weapons in his Lion Zord. He was trying to reconfigure them to fire with less kick back and more accuracy.

Will barely looked up from his work to acknowledge the question; true he had worked it out in his head what their stories would be, they would just need permission from the others. "Yeah, we pass ourselves off as relatives. It could work; I just need to ask the others if that would be ok. I'll call Billy I need his help with a couple of things and I'm worried about him. His mind has been in a state of turmoil since last night. Even now, he's not resting well." William finished as he closed the plate on his Panther Zord. He had fine tuned all the hydraulics as well as the interface. He wanted a smoother interface with the Zord and was stuck on how to get there.

"I say we take a break and get some eats, we've been here since the crack of dawn and I'm sick of looking at circuits and wires. I'd much rather have a good meal then shackle you to the bed." Will said with a hint of mischief as he smiled at Jase's reaction.

"Excuse me?" Jase said with a cocked eyebrow and barely concealed smirk. "Getting a little out of hand aren't we?"

Will strolled over to Jase and wrapped himself around Jase in a manner that gave only one answer to what he really wanted---food be damned. Their passionate embrace was interrupted by Rocky's arrival. Will groaned into Jase's mouth as he caught sight of their medic.

"You have the WORST timing." Will said as he untangled himself. The humor in his voice belied the gruff tone he used.

Rocky caught the humor in his voice before he gave a sharp retort. "Sorry chief, even passionate sex takes a back seat to duty. I was doing some scans on us and the others. I'm worried about anomalies I found in our blood. They seem to be in all of us. I think it's linked to the Ninjetti powers. I want to be sure it's not something that can be exploited by the enemy, to do that I'd like to get fresh blood samples from everyone."

Will sighed, he wasn't in charge, not fully and he hated Tommy's guts no matter what reality they were in. "Very well, once the others are out of school I'll contact them. Is there anything else odd that showed up?"

"No, just this strange thing with our blood. For now let's not get too excited. It may just be a by-product of the Ninjetti power in our bodies. I'm not freaked out so don't get too excited. Now, I'll leave you two to carry on while I get some breakfast." Rocky left the lovers while he went to get some quiet time in at a coffeehouse.

Jase cleared his throat and raised a gentle hand to Will's face. "Now, how about we resume our previous activities commander?"

Will placed a gentle kiss on Jase's palm as he let himself be wrapped in strong arms and held so close they were almost one. He let out a surprised yelp as he was lifted off the floor and carried to their quarters. "Hey this is no way to treat your leader!" He said with a wild grin as he was dropped on the bed.

"Normally, I'd agree. But we are off duty and we are partners my dear William. We haven't had any time alone in far too long. Now..." Jase crawled onto the bed after he shut the door. He wrapped himself around Billy and nuzzled his neck while he enjoyed the intoxication of his lover's scent and presence.

"...how about we rectify that? It's just us. No duty, no obligations. Just two men who love each other more than life itself and plenty of time to express that love."

William was unable to reply as his mouth was claimed by Jase as well as his body. William was kissed by Jason until his lungs screamed for a respite as well as some much needed oxygen. He blinked as he took in the most beautiful sight in the world, to him at least. Jason had divested himself of his shirt while they were joined at the lips. He again thanked whatever deity allowed them to be a couple and reached out for Jason to pull him close.

Jason smiled as he took his lovers hands but flipped him on his back while he studied him with a predatory gleam in his eyes. "Uh, uh Cranston, you are the one being pleasured not the one in charge now. Let me make love to you it's been too long since we were together like this." Jason said softly as he kissed both of William's palms and held him closely.

Will nodded his agreement as he melted into Jason's embrace and closed his eyes. No words were needed for what they wanted to convey to each other. Jason gently stripped Will and made love to him as he whispered "I love you" with each stroke, caress and kiss to his beloved. Will gripped Jason with an intensity that scared him as he was carried away in the emotion and heat of the moment. Will moaned and called Jason's name while he rode Jason for all he was worth, finally culminating in the most intense simultaneous climax either man had experienced.

Will had been reduced to tears as he held on to Jason for dear life, like he was drowning and Jase was his means of staying afloat. Jase kissed Will and noticed the tear tracks on his face. "Baby, what's wrong why are you crying?" Jase asked as he wiped away Will's tears.

Will let his forehead rest on Jason's chest as he spoke. "I'm ok. That was so incredible, so fucking beautiful love. I know you love me, but it was so ---goddess, it was beyond words." Will said as he kissed Jason gently. Jase stood up and carried his lover into the shower. Will let him self be taken care of for one of the rare moments in his life and enjoyed it. They lingered in the shower, took the time to enjoy moments peace. Once they were all cleaned up, they exited their quarters and went for lunch.

While they enjoyed themselves, Billy and Jason were in the kitchen finishing off their breakfast and starting on the homework they would have to turn in when they returned to school. Billy was quiet as he worked on his AP chemistry homework. He felt uneasy after the kiss he had shared with Jason. Granted Jason had initiated it, he was not sure how comfortable he was with the idea of being queer on top of everything else that was going on in his life.

Jason got up to get some coffee and brushed his hand over Billy's shoulder as he returned to his seat. He noticed the way Billy froze at the contact, and it bothered him. "Billy, what's wrong? You have been tense since we woke up. Are you bothered by what happened yesterday?" Jason queried as he slid his book away and looked into Billy's eyes.

Billy closed his eyes for a moment and then looked over to see Jason peering at him. "I---I guess I'm confused Jason. After the long talk I had with Alex and Shanna, coping with the bed of lies our father has surrounded us in and coping with my sexuality I'm stretched too thin. You know me well Jase, what do you think my next move would be?" Billy said as he sipped his coffee. Jase sighed and looked at the table before he answered. True he knew his friend better than most, but could he anticipate his moves in regard to this? "I'd say you would bolt for a while. Hide out in the literal and metaphorical sense from your feelings and what was causing you grief. Then when you realized what the best way to deal with it was, you'd come to one of us. Either Kim or myself." Jason finished as he drained his coffee and awaited a response from Billy.

Billy shrugged as he finished off the Columbian that Jason kept just for him. "Astute observations Jason, that frightens me actually, that my best friend can read me better than I know myself. Your assumptions are correct; I was planning on bolting from you. I've been letting that kiss run around in my head, probably overanalyzing it from the wrong angle. Part of me wants to jump you and kiss you until I can't breathe. Another part of me wants to shut down, curl up in a corner and hide until things are back to normal. The last part wants revenge on my father for all the underhanded, low down sneaky things he's done to me, Alex and Shanna.

I've been wondering what to do about my situation. I have seriously wronged Adam and Aisha, but since Alex has latched on to Adam, that has been worked out. Aisha however is another story. Then, there is Alex, Shanna, my father and the new step-family. Last, but not certainly least is you. I've tried to control my attraction to you for some time, and to find out the feeling is mutual is a huge load off my mind."

Billy took Jason's hand as he continued. "If you'll have me, and understand that I'm damaged emotionally I'd love to be with you. Be it for a week, a year or eternity I'd like to be your partner Jase. I have loved you for a long time and I want to show you how much I care." Billy said as he entwined his fingers with Jason's and smiled at how well they fit together.

Jason saw the shy smile on Billy's face and matched it with one of his own. "William Cranston, I'd love to have you for my partner. I understand that you have issues and I'll be there next to you to support and love you." Jason finished his statement with a squeeze of Billy's hand. He was about to reach over and kiss Billy when he heard the front door open. Both young men leaned back and resumed their studies.

Jason's mother called him as she entered the house. She knew in her heart something was going on between Jason and Billy but she didn't want to scare them by saying anything just yet. She had a feeling that neither boy was 100 sure of their feelings or they were very sure and were afraid to tell anyone just yet.

"Jason? Billy are you here?" She was answered by a response from the kitchen.

"We're in the kitchen mom. How was your shift at the hospital?" Jason queried as he gave his mother a brief kiss on the cheek and settled back into his chair. He spared Billy a glance and winked at him, who only smirked at Jason's cheekiness.

"Fine honey; it was slow for the overnight shift which was good considering I've yet to adjust to this new schedule. I'll be glad when I'm back on my usual shift." Helen Scott said as she flopped into a chair and gratefully took the mug of coffee Billy handed her. She paused before taking a sip and looked at Billy warily.

"Billy, did you make this?" She smiled as she said it, but Billy's coffee was infamous for its strength and caffeine levels. It had been known to keep the young genius up for days on end when he was working on something.

"No ma'am. Jason made the coffee. He won't let me make it here, only at home. I know the ill repute my coffee making skills have amongst my friends. It wouldn't be nice to poison my second mother." Billy said as he sat back down and drank his fifth or sixth cup of java that morning.

Helen paused as she drank. 'Did Billy just call me his second mother?' She put her mug down and hugged him impulsively, startling both Billy and Jason with her actions. At the quizzical looks she got, she smiled then answered their unspoken queries.

"Sorry, I was shocked by what Billy said. I had no idea you thought of me as a second mother to you. It caught me off guard as well as moved me." She gently tousled Billy's hair as she stood and stretched. She looked in the cupboard as she headed back towards her bedroom.

"Are you staying for dinner?" She asked as she peered into the fridge.

"Actually, I was hoping Jason could accompany me back to Forest Creek. I really need to get some clean clothes and we don't have school again until Monday. Would that be ok?" Billy said as he gave Helen serious puppy dog eyes and a smile that melted her heart.

"Sure, you boys haven't had a chance to relax for some time. Just make sure you're home by Sunday afternoon Jason. I'll leave a note for your dad, if you boys will excuse me I'm heading to bed." She gave Jason a kiss on the forehead and spared Billy another brief hug before making her way up the stairs to crash after a long shift at the hospital.

Billy leaned back and smiled at Jason as he began to gather his belongings. "Well, c'mon Mr. Scott. You have some packing to do." Billy said with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. Jason smiled at him, but wondered why he suddenly wanted Jason to come with him.

"Ok, what's up Billy? You didn't say anything about me going back to Forest Creek with you until just now." Jason said in a half-serious tone of voice. Actually he had no problem with accompanying Billy back to his uncle's resort. He had plenty of ideas of what he would do with and to Billy once they were alone again.

Billy gave him one of his rare megawatt smiles and traced a thumb over Jason's lips gently." I plan to take fully take advantage of having you to myself for a couple of days." Billy said in a husky whisper that made Jason lose his breath for a moment as he watched Billy walk up the stairs. His walk had grown into something very nice to observe since he had outgrown his childhood clumsiness a few years prior.

Jason followed Billy into his room and shut the door softly while he made sure the door was locked. His mother was sound asleep after he grueling shift at the hospital, and he wanted to continue what they started a couple of mornings prior in Jason's bedroom. Jason came up behind Billy and wrapped his arms around the shorter boy as he nuzzled his neck.

Billy leaned back slightly into Jason's arms and smiled at the sensation of being held and loved. He spoke softly with closed eyes as he wrapped himself in Jason's arms. "Jason, as much as I'd love to let you have your way with me here and now, I couldn't. I respect and honor your mother and your home too much. I want you more than ever, but it will have to wait a little longer. Do you mind?"

Billy turned in Jason's arms and kissed him gently. He smiled as he picked up his bag and waited for Jason to follow suit. Jason quickly grabbed some clothes and his necessities, stuffed them in a bag in record time then followed Billy out to the car. He left a note for his dad and snagged his wallet so they could get some food on the way.

While they rode to Forest Creek in companionable silence, the others sat around at lunch in awkward silence. Alex, Adam and Rocky faced Kim, Aisha and Tommy. Tommy had followed Kim all day and she had yet to ditch him or for him to get the point. Everyone sat there, not quite sure who should make the first effort to speak. Finally Alex couldn't stand it anymore.

A/N: Ok, I know I'm mean for doing this. But now you have to tune in to see what Alex said and what Jason plans for Billy once they are in Forest Creek.

Feedback makes me happy and motivated! And it keeps Kranston off my back!

Later,

Wolfie---


	9. Chapter 9

Hiya all! As always, credit to Cobalt Blue for agreeing to Beta me, and for the great Billy/Jase scene in this chapter. As always, feedback keeps me going and inspires me!

Fair warning! Slash relationships abound in Bleu Soliloqui. Slightly A/U with alternate reality versions of some of the rangers.

Enjoy!

Alex stared at everyone before he spoke focusing his attention on Aisha especially. "We all need to talk about what's going on." He looked around and sighed, "You know, with Billy and Jason, Adam and myself and Aisha. Tommy, you---well you have your reasons for whatever you said to Kim earlier. Aisha, you haven't looked at me once in the last couple of days. I'm sorry that I remind you of Billy, but I'm not him."

Aisha glared at Alex then stood up as anger at Alex flashing in her eyes. "I know you're not him. If you were, I would have told you where to go already." Sarcasm dripped from her voice, "Forgive me if I'm not running to you with open arms," she snorted, "or lips like everyone else around here." Looking down, her voice softened, "I need time Alexander, and I need to have a word with Billy before I explode." Aisha was pulled back to her seat by Rocky who cursed himself mentally at how the situation had gotten out of hand.

Aisha pulled out of Rocky's grasp and continued to glare at Alex. Kim shot daggers at Tommy while she ate, and Adam kicked himself mentally for this whole mess. It wasn't anyone's fault in particular that they were all at wits end, but it made things very uncomfortable and tense.

Alex sighed as he picked up his books and made for a hasty exit. He was pissed off, there was no doubt about that, and he knew he needed to leave before he blew his stack at everyone. Adam glanced at him, asking him with his eyes if he wanted company, but Alex negated the offer with a small shake of his head.

"I'll catch up with you later Adam." Alex left without another word to anyone else. Adam shook his head at the mess their lives had become. Getting up he too left the others to their own devices. He didn't attempt to follow Alex; instead, he headed for the gym to work off his stress.

Unknowing of the Peyton Place building in Angel Grove among their friends, Billy and Jason were getting comfortable at his room at the cabin. Jason had wrapped himself around Billy and was nuzzling the blonde's neck while he enjoyed the freedom to explore his friend's body. He couldn't get over the idea of having the right to touch Billy like this. Billy lay back with a blissful expression on his face as Jason continued his explorations. Jason eventually gave up the spot at the juncture of Billy's neck and shoulder to work his way down to his chest. Jason gave a slight growl as he left a wet line with his tongue to a nipple where he bit down gently. Jason was rewarded with a shudder and low moan as Billy arched his back and bit his lip.

"Liked that did you?" Jason asked as he playfully nibbled his way across to the other nipple, and was almost knocked off the bed as Billy jumped up at Jason's teeth making contact with his skin. "I guess that answers my question, now sit up for me."

Billy sat up in a daze as Jason divested him of his shirt and pushed him back down on the bed. Jason straddled Billy and leaned in for a kiss, but wound up on his back instead when Billy flipped them. Billy looked down at Jason as if he were a prime rib and he a starving man.

Jason preened under Billy's visual inspection, and then he reached up to bring Billy back down for another kiss. Jason could taste the coffee Billy had had for lunch. He could learn to like coffee if it meant kissing Billy like this. Their lips met, and Jason could feel Billy groan into his mouth as Jason's tongue sought entrance.

Jason had no idea exactly what he wanted from Billy, what he had to offer his genius lover, but he knew he wanted it, and wanted to give it. He let his hands roam behind Billy cupping his derriere in both hands, marveling at the tight hardness of the muscle, their tongues dueled. He felt Billy reach down and pull Jase's own red tank over his head, and then run his hands gently along Jase's sides as he stretched out on top of the bigger teen.

Jason twisted over so that they were lying side by side facing each other, never breaking the kiss. Jason ran his hand down Billy's hip, and then between them. The lengthening hardness he felt there sent a shiver up his spine and elicited another moan of pleasure from the blond genius. He felt Billy's hand begin its own explorations, as he was gently squeezed along the length of his own manhood.

Pulling back from his face, Billy's deep blue green eyes asked for permission to go further. With a smile it was granted as both boys grinned playfully at each other started shucking their jeans and undergarments. Faster than it takes to tell they were once again stretched out against each other, skin touching skin, lips touching, hand's roaming.

Slowly Jason kissed his way down Billy's body, taking time to savor the scent of his skin, the texture of his body. He could smell Billy's cologne and under that, was the Billy's own scent. Permeating all that was another scent, a gamey scent. Looking down, he could see that it was coming from both of them as they leaked lubricant. Smiling to himself, Jason kissed his way on down to the length of hardened flesh awaiting him. Taking no time to consider what he was doing he swooped up the length with his tongue and then took it deep into his mouth- at least as much of it as he could manage without gagging. He was after all new at this, and had no idea whatsoever how Anna Myers had managed to take all of him at once.

"Oh, no you don't," Billy said twisting his body around. "I'm not going to lie here and not participate." With a grin he twisted around so that their bodies were like the two famous inverted numbers and said, "I want my new toy!" Jason smiled to himself as he felt his own manhood suddenly engulfed in a hot warm suction.

The room was filled with the gentle sounds of their bodies rocking back and forth against each other. Each boy groaning slightly around their oral pleasures until their passions began to rise. Suddenly Jason realized how close he was getting, he feverishly tapped Billy on the shoulder trying to warn him of impending completion, but the Blue Ranger was having nothing of it. As the universe shattered around him, he arched his back as Billy slipped from his mouth. He felt something hot and wet splash against his cheek, his neck, and his chest as he slowly came down from where Billy had sent him.

Looking down his body he saw Billy smiling up at him, with a very self satisfied look on his face he said, "That was...was…uh...Morphinomenal!" Billy grinned at Jason as he pulled himself level with Jason's face.

He smiled at Jason as he leaned in for a kiss, feeling the cooling liquid against his skin as he claimed Jason's mouth. Jason pulled away only because he needed to breathe, and wrapped himself around Billy sated, and pleased as hell with him self.

"Can we do this again?" Jason asked while he nuzzled at Billy's neck enjoying just being with Billy.

Billy smiled dreamily and gave Jason a soft "as often as we can" before he yawned and snuggled closer to Jason. He was exhausted, but it was a good feeling, he was safe and warm with his lover--- lover, hmmm I like the sound of that. Billy thought as he started to drift off.

Jason lay there, as he caressed Billy's face just watching him sleep peacefully. Jason soon joined Billy in slumber as he drifted off entwined with his friend and lover. While they enjoyed a nap, the other members of their group weren't so lucky as to enjoy a moment's peace.

Alex had found Adam after school sitting at the usual spot in front of school. He approached carefully, since he didn't know what kind of a mood Adam might be in. Adam noticed Alex and smiled at him in welcome.

"No need to sneak up on me, I'm in a better mood now. I worked off most of my stress earlier." Adam scooted over to give Alex some room as he looked off in the distance. Alex sat there, enjoying the silence for a moment before he spoke up. "I'm sorry I blew up at everyone earlier. I just couldn't stand the tension any more. I feel like they are so concerned for Billy's emotions, and I'm not suffering at all. Hell, I'm miserable too."

Adam let an arm snake around Alex's waist as Alex scowled at the ground and went silent. He didn't mean to whine or sound like he was complaining, but the fact that everyone seemed so overly concerned with how Billy was taking the drastic changes to their lives was rubbing him the wrong way.

Alex gave Adam a feeble grin as he realized that Adam was taking a chance by publicly comforting him at school. "Thanks Adam. I didn't mean to unload on you. I suppose I should find my brother and talk with him. I'm concerned about him, so is father. Any clue as to where he could be?"

Adam shrugged, as he honestly didn't have a clue where Billy could be holed up. He had thought about Jason's but didn't know if just calling or showing up would be a good idea. "Maybe he's still at Jason's. Think we should try there?"

"Sure why not? Hopefully Mrs. Scott will tell us where his is if they aren't there. Shall we?" Alex hopped up and waited for Adam to join him. Adam stood, and they headed towards the Scott residence. While they went in search of Billy and Jason, Tommy was attempting to pull his foot out of his mouth.

Kim was standing in front of him with the same fiery look in her eyes that hadn't died down since the morning. Every time she let what Tommy had said about Billy and Jason cross her mind she became livid all over again. Tommy had failed at every attempt to get her to calm down and listen to him.

"Thomas Oliver, give me one reason why I should ever listen to anything you have to say ever again? Who do you think you are to put down my two best friends, Jason and Billy are like brothers to me! How dare you even think let alone speak of them so poorly? They welcomed you to the team, to our circle of friends after all you did, and this is how you repay them?"

Tommy stood there, unable to come back with any kind of defense for Kim's tirade. She was right and he knew it. He hung his head and waited for her to run out of steam, and maybe he could try to apologize for his erroneous words earlier in the day.

"Well, Oliver? Do you have anything to say for yourself or should I let you think about how you have deeply offended me and my friends?" Kim was so angry she was getting flushed in the face, and unshed tears were standing in her eyes.

"Kim, there is nothing I can say in my defense. You're right in every sense of the word. I let my tiredness and stress speak for me instead of common sense. I'm frustrated by this whole thing, how everyone seems to be at the breaking point, myself at the head of the line."

Kim looked at Tommy for long moments before she spoke again. "So what is stressing you out about Billy and Jase? If Billy needs support from his best friend, who's been there for every bad thing Billy has gone through who the hell are you to judge? If Billy actually reached out to Jason, then he's at least trying to heal. Now if you can get over what ever trip you're on, I'll be at home trying to catch up on school work. You can call me later, and I'll decide if I want to talk to you. Bye Tommy."

With that Kim flounced away towards home. Tommy stood there for a moment, not sure if he was forgiven or not, and then decided he would call Kim later and hope she would speak with him. He headed toward the youth center, hoping that he could find Jason and Billy to talk about what was going on. He had done them wrong in thought and felt the need to correct his error.

Alex and Adam arrived at the Scott residence, and were greeted by a sleepy Helen Scott who wasn't sure what the boys could want. "Hi boys, what can I do for you?"

Adam shuffled from one foot to the other for a bit. "We're sorry that we woke you Mrs. Scott. We were hoping that Billy or Jason were here."

Helen blinked sleepily as she tried to recall where Jason said they were going. She looked at Alex for a second, before she realized that Billy wasn't standing in front of her. "They went to see Billy's uncle in Forest Creek. They'll probably be there for the rest of the weekend. Don't worry they'll be back in school on Monday. Do you want me to call them for you?'

Alex nodded "no" while Adam thought about Mrs. Scott's offer. "No thanks, if you talk to them can you ask them to call us. We're worried about them ma'am."

Helen nodded; she got the gist of things even though she wasn't running at full speed yet. "Ok boys, if I talk to Jason I'll let him know you came by. They'll be back on Sunday if you want to drop by."

Alex smiled at Helen, he felt bad about waking her but they had no idea she had worked a late night at the hospital. "Thank you again, Mrs. Scott, we're sorry for waking you up. I'll try to catch him on Sunday when he gets back. Thank you." Alex stepped off the porch as Helen waved bye to them and went back inside. Once they were on their way, Adam asked Alex what his plan was for the rest of the evening.

"So got anything planned for the evening?"

Alex shrugged as they approached his house, his expression becoming more somber. "Nothing really, I don't feel like being bothered with him or his wife. Shanna is out for the evening and I'm not in the mood for a lot of company. You?"

Adam shrugged. He didn't have a plan per se; he just wanted to spend time with Alex. "Nothing really, dinner with the folks then I have no idea. Would you like to come over for dinner or we could do something afterwards if you want." Alex smiled a real smile that time at Adam's offer of respite in his storm of troubles. "Why meeting the family so soon? Why not, I mean it's not like I'll be missed here. Will your mom be ok with you bringing me over?"

"I'd like to call first if we could. If not, we can ask when we get there." Adam gave Alex a long look, as he tried to gauge his mood.

Alex sighed and started toward the door, a wicked smile came to him as he thought of something mean to do to his father.

"Sure, let's go in. If I act odd, I'll explain later. Just play along with me ok?" Alex grinned at Adam with a glint in his eyes that spoke volumes about his plan. Adam nodded his agreement and entered with Alex leading the way.

Seeing no one home, Alex sighed. "Oh well, it would have been funny to do that to him. Here's the phone. I'll be right down I want to drop off my bag." Alex dashed upstairs and dropped off his back pack whilst Adam called home to see if his mom would be ok with a guest for dinner.

"Hey mom, can a friend come over for dinner? Oh Billy's brother. Yeah, well it's a long story that I'd prefer to leave to them to tell. Ok, I'll be home soon, thanks mom, love you too."

Adam hung up and turned around to see Alex standing in the doorway with a warm smile that reached his eyes and lit his soul. Alex left a note for his family and then embraced Adam possessively, like he was the only thing keeping Alex afloat in the rolling sea of his life. Adam returned the embrace, glad they were together, and that Alex was allowing him to get close to his heart. After a short time Alex let go, with a kiss that seared Adam to the core.

"Keep that up and we'll never make dinner." Adam teased as he wandered to the door with his hand on his lips, still feeling the kiss from Alex.

"Who knows, that might not be a bad idea. However, I wouldn't want your mom to think ill of me before I've even met her. If she'll be so kind as to let us be after dinner I'd love to play around with you some more." Alex joined Adam so they could set off for dinner.

Meanwhile, Billy and Jason had come back to the land of the living after a blissful slumber and shower together. Billy was sitting in the window watching Jason, he enjoyed the fact he could observe without reproach and touch Jason with the feeling being reciprocated.

Jason caught his gaze and smiled lazily. "Hey your gonna make me blush watching me like I'm the only thing on the earth to look at."

"That's because you are to me." Billy said simply as he got up, nabbing his shoes on the way. His attempt at putting them on was interrupted by a crushing embrace from Jason and a kiss that stole the air from his lungs. "What did I do to deserve that?" Billy queried once he could breathe again.

Jason caressed his face gently while he let go. "You just are; that's what. Now come on you make a boy hungry." Jason tugged Billy along as they headed to the car with dinner on their minds, love pulling a close second.

Anyone else who would have occupied their time and minds was irrelevant at the moment. Once they had taken in their fill of food and each other, they could pay attention to the woes of their world. For now it was them and only them that they could see or acknowledge.

A/N: Ok, I know I left it in an awkward place, but there's more to come. Heart to hearts all around! (Thanks for sticking around for this chapter, and here's to more!

Wolfie


	10. Moonshine, blood and tears

Bleu Soliloqui 10

Fair warning, Slash, A/U versions of some of our rangers. Rated R for language and sexiness all around.

quick hi to Bruce for emailing about the status of this fic. It's good to know peeps are on the lookout for new chapters.

Second time thanks to Cobalt Blue for the inspiration for continuing, very evil fucking grin

**NOTE:** this chapter focuses mostly on Billy and Jason, as well as how not to deal with your problems. I know that some of you may think it's too out of character, but it's a way to drive the plot and make the characters more believable as people.

Billy and Jason arrived at the restaurant that Jason had suggested in Stone Canyon. He wanted time alone with Billy, maybe he could pull whatever was still gnawing at his soul out of his lover. Billy perused the menu, smiling to himself in a way that would have shamed a Cheshire cat. Jason caught his self satisfied smile, and queried him on it.

"Ok, what are you grinning about Cranston? You look like the proverbial cat that ate the canary." Jason asked as he put his menu down to give Billy his full attention. Billy continued to smile as he put his menu down on the table.

"No reason. I'm feeling happy for one… I thought the feeling was gone for good after the last couple of weeks. Secondly, I'm with you and getting to enjoy just being with you. I've been depressed, angry and hurt since dad betrayed us and getting to be with you is making me feel a little better."

Billy glanced up as the waiter came over, took their orders and menus while he stared at the water in his glass. He had the feeling that Jason wanted him to talk about how he was feeling, and what he wanted but he couldn't do that just yet. He wanted to savor the moment then and there, and worry about his familial issues later, much later.

Jason sat there, unsure about broaching the sore subject of Billy's family with him while Billy seemed content with just sitting quietly there with him. Jason decided to go for broke…after all what would Billy do if he did get pissed off? After a moment of deliberation, Jason decided to go for it.

"Um, Billy do you need or want to talk about what's going on with you? I'm worried about you and how you're coping with everything." Jason sat there as he watched the emotions play out on Billy's face… going from confused to being annoyed to nothingness. His expression was impossible to read, he now emitted a coolness that couldn't be mistaken for anything but Billy shutting down his emotional side to avoid being hurt.

"Billy? Please don't shut me out. I asked only out of concern and love for you." Jason kicked himself a few times mentally for what he had done. He knew that Billy didn't deal well with emotional issues, and asking him outright was never a good idea.

Billy merely sat there, toyed with his water glass and remained silent. The silence continued until they paid the bill and went to the car. Jason finally had had enough of the wall that had crept up during dinner.

"Dammit Billy! Can't you understand I only asked to help you? I'm not out to hurt you or judge you? After what happened between us how can you just shut down and close me out like this?" Jason thwacked the steering wheel in frustration as Billy merely glanced at him before finally speaking.

"Jason, all I wanted to do was enjoy an evening out with you. I didn't want to discuss my family, the extra rangers or anything other than us. For once in the last two weeks all I wanted was to spend time with you because I could…not have it turn into an impromptu therapy session. I'd like to go back to the cabin and be alone for awhile, please."

Jason didn't say another word; he merely started the car and dropped Billy off as requested. When he tried to hug Billy all he got was a stiff, forced embrace in return. Billy left him to return to his room and sulk, while Jason headed back home with thoughts of self recrimination running through his head.

Billy entered the cabin; found no one really about and headed to his room… he flopped on the bed, all he wanted was a night out, a nice night with Jason. Apparently that was to be denied him as well. He never had a normal childhood or adolescence. How hard was it to ask for one night of normalcy in his warped life?

He laid there for a couple of hours stewing until he remembered the old cabin on the outskirts of the resort. No one used it besides the family. His uncle had shown him how to distill grain alcohol for a school project once, and if he remembered correctly, the still was out in that cabin. Billy hopped up, threw on a jacket and headed out to the cabin, with thoughts of drowning his sorrow into the ground. Billy trekked out to find the cabin dark and neglected.

Ironic to find it in such disrepair, it fits how I feel perfectly right now. Billy thought as he pried the door open and went in. Fortunately, the electricity still worked, and once his eyes adjusted to the sudden light he found the still as it was left. Covered in dust, and left to fade into memory by his uncle.

"I wonder if there's anything here." Billy wondered as he wandered around the small cabin, and mentally berated himself for even entertaining the idea of getting wasted. Then again, it wasn't like anyone cared anyway… after a couple more visual sweeps he found the last of the bottles his uncle had made on a shelf in the back. He grabbed two and headed back to his room, still fighting over whether or not to actually crack one open and let himself slip into oblivion and forget all that had transpired in the last couple of weeks.

Billy managed to make it to his room without running into his aunt or uncle, once he was alone, he closed the door to his room, got out some ice and a cup and looked at the bottles as if they were going to reach up and slap him for being so weak and foolish.

While Billy contemplated sealing his fall from grace, Jason was back at home kicking himself for being so insensitive to Billy earlier. His mom was surprised and a little worried to find him home so soon after having left with Billy the night before. She expected him home later in the evening or possibly after school the next night. From the way Jason looked, something had to have gone wrong.

"Jason, what's wrong son? You look like you lost your best friend." Helen said as she sat down and slipped him a mug of tea. Jason sighed, took the proffered mug and smiled at his mother.

"Not quite mom. Billy and I had a slight misunderstanding. I tried to get him to talk about what's eating him and he clammed up on me. I know he can be stubborn, but I think I asked too soon. He looked hurt and angry when he finally spoke again."

"You know he's got a lot to deal with right now. How long have you two been friends?"

"Since we were eight years old, why?" Jason queried as he gave his mother a long look about her sudden questioning.

"And how long did it take you to figure out that Billy doesn't deal well with emotional issues?"

"I figured that out soon, probably by the time we were in junior high. Again, why do you ask mom?"

"I have a point; I'm getting there now calm down. You know what he dealt with when his mother died, and I know he loves you like a brother Jase. Once he's able to come to you, to say what's on his mind; he will. He trusts you like no one else, believe me I know it. You are the only one he trusted enough to come to when he couldn't deal with his loss and his pain, and the only one he trusted when things got so bad he wanted to end it all. You remember that?"

Jason swallowed hard, he would never forget that night… when Billy called him in tears, and asked him to come over. The way he found Billy, ready to end it, ready to just give up and stop his pain would always haunt Jason Lee Scott. "Yeah, I'll never forget it mom. I just think he's on that path again, trying to hold it in and eventually he's gonna snap. I think I'll call him and see if he'll accept my apology. Thanks" Jason kissed his mother on the cheek and went up to his room to call Billy.

Billy however was in no condition to talk to anyone. He had succumbed to wanting the pain to stop. He had opened a bottle, sat there staring at it as if it were a black hole into which he would never return if he took that first sip.

Finally he gave in to the calling of the bottle…to the promise of a painless state of being. He was currently laying on the floor with a cup in one hand and the bottle within reach. Billy wasn't focusing on anything, it was dark and he had taken out his contacts prior to his trip to the shed. Truth be told he couldn't really see much of anything, at least nothing he wanted to see. If anyone had come in, they would have sworn he was dead or close to it. He was breathing so slowly, it looked as if he had passed out cold on the floor.

Actually he was thinking, thinking about everything that had happened to him in the last couple of weeks. How he had been betrayed by his father, and the rest of his family that had let him and Alex believe the lie of being cousins, just really close cousins. How the three rangers from an alternate reality had dropped in on their reality bringing a psychotic version of himself as a Green Ranger into the mix. No, scratch that… William was now the Black Ninjetti Ranger. Then there was figuring out his attraction to Jason.

Billy lay there, despite the ringing in his ears; what he thought was the ringing in his ears. It was the telephone that was just out of his reach. He looked up at it and decided why the hell not, after all if it was his father, his current state of being would make for an interesting conversation.

He crawled over and grabbed it on the last ring. "Who is it?"

Jason almost dropped the receiver on his end, as the person on the other end sounded so unlike Billy it freaked him out a bit. "Can I speak with Billy please?"

"This is him, what do you want Jason? I thought I told you to leave me alone." Billy had gotten into a sitting position with the phone in hand and the bottle in the other. "Can't you just do the one thing I've asked you to do Jase, I don't need this now."

"Billy, what's wrong with you? Why do you sound so out of it?" Jason wondered if he was really ok, if he didn't know better he would have sworn Billy sounded drunk.

"What's wrong? Are you of all people asking me what's wrong? That's funny…you know what's wrong with me. I'm having a collapse right now, because of all that's happened. What do you want from me?" Billy put the phone down for a second to drain the last of the bottle and let it roll away from him. He then picked up the receiver to continue his end of the conversation.

"Bill, what the hell is up with you? If you don't start sounding normal, I'm coming back up there now. You sound drunk to me." Jason was afraid that Billy had sunk to drinking himself into a hole that would be really hard to climb back out of.

"Maybe I am, so what? It's not like anyone gives a damn anymore Jase. You were more concerned with playing therapist than being my friend, boyfriend or whatever the hell you want to call it tonight. William is trying to be my conscience when he can't even control his own emotions and Aisha thinks I'm an asshole I'm sure. So why not get plastered, it'll save me a couple steps leading to the loony bin. That's probably my next stop ya know." Billy stopped his rant, and started to giggle uncontrollably. That was the final straw for Jason. He hung up and left a note for his mother that he was heading back to the cabin. He'd be back after he figured out what was wrong with Billy. Figuring he would worry about getting in trouble for teleporting later, he hit the stud on his communicator to the resort where Billy was holed up. He signed in after startling Billy's uncle with his sudden appearance.

"Hi, I'm sorry to just show up but I'm worried about Bill. May I go to his room?"

"Sure, do you know where it is?" His uncle pointed down the hall as he still wondered why he didn't hear a car pull up and how he had gotten to Angel Grove and back so quickly.

"Thanks, I'll be leaving in the morning probably. I'll get you if he is in trouble. He sounded really weird on the phone, so I raced back here. Thanks again."

"Sure, no problem. Let me know if you need help." Jase nodded and dashed off to the room. Fortunately he hadn't locked it and he found Billy there staring at the phone with an expression that wasn't quite rage but it definitely wasn't happy either.

"William Cranston, what the hell is wrong with you?" Jason said after he had shut and locked the door. Billy was definitely wasted, and it seemed like he was a mean drunk. The look on his face was not friendly and for a split second Jason regretted coming to the cabin. In the next he dodged a cordless handset being thrown at him.

"Jase, why did you come here? Why the fuck are you here? It's not like you really care or anyone else does for that matter. Can't you just leave me here, to suffer like everyone else does eventually?" Billy's voice was a low growl, made rough by drunkenness and anger that finally was coming out thanks to his binge.

Jason was doing his level best to keep his cool. Getting angry with a drunken person was never a good idea. He couldn't help but be saddened at the turn of events in the few hours that had passed since he and Billy had spent a slow afternoon making love in the same bed Billy was now trying to get off of and to his feet. Billy managed to get to his feet, only to slide to the floor in moments.

Jason considered going to him, but instead decided to wait until he saw what Billy's next actions were going to be. Billy sat there for a moment, until he realized that grain alcohol was not a good idea without much food in his system. With a surprising amount of energy he made a beeline for the bathroom, shut the door and began to pay homage to the porcelain deity. Jason waited patiently until he heard the flush and pained moan from the bathroom.

He sat on the bed and waited for the door to open… it finally did and a very sick and shameful looking Billy came out and promptly slid down to the floor, unable to look at Jason. Considering how badly he felt physically and emotionally it was surprising he could even think at the moment. Jason spared him having to do much besides sit still and listen.

"Billy…considering how bad you look and probably feel I'll keep it brief and to the point. Precisely what gave you the idea that drinking yourself into oblivion would be a good way to deal with what's going on? Be glad you're a ranger otherwise you'd be in the ER now."

The only answer was a groan from the floor where Billy had managed to curl into a fetal position and was unable to do much of anything besides moan in pain. Places he didn't know existed hurt him at the moment. He felt like the room was spinning at high speed and he was strapped in for the duration. He was certainly in no condition to argue and if he had the urge to puke again, he'd be screwed.

Jason was about to continue his tirade when he noticed Billy trying to get up. "Billy? Can you even hear me?" He went over to Billy and turned him over. "Damn, I can't yell at you while you're like this."

Jason helped him off the floor and tried to get him at least sitting up. Billy was trying to get back to the bathroom; fortunately Jason figured that out in time to get Billy back to his retching. After what seemed like forever the bathroom door slid open and Billy was sprawled on his back, breathing hard and near tears. Jason looked in and debated on how to proceed. Finally he picked Billy up and got him to the bed.

While Jason got a cold towel for him, Billy did his best to crawl into the covers and hide from the rant he just knew was coming from Jason. Jason came back to find Billy under the covers. He sighed and pulled them off, to offer the cold cloth to ease his nausea.

Billy took it with a muttered thank you as he waited for the tirade to begin. When Jason said nothing, he finally looked up at his friend unable to even begin to apologize.

"Well, I came here ready to read you the riot act and to give you a good talking to but I think you've suffered enough for now. You look too miserable for me to yell at you now. I will though once you're able to listen without the room spinning. Now, lets get you showered and to sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

Billy nodded gratefully as he allowed Jason to help him to shower and get into something clean then he stretched out on the bed, staring at the ceiling while Jason crawled into bed with him and turned out the lights. When it seemed the Billy was going to lay there without saying a word Jason sat up and looked at his lover. Billy met his gaze and without warning broke into a sobbing fit that startled Jason. Billy's desperate sounding cries wounded Jason to the core, and he wrapped his arms around Billy until the fit passed.

Finally, the cries stopped as the tense body in Jason's arms went limp after a while. Billy hadn't cried himself out but was lying there, wrapped tight in Jason's embrace. After some time, Jason heard a muffled "I'm so sorry" from Billy.

He turned on his side to face Billy and to hear him… whatever was on his mind was going to finally come out. He hated that it too a drinking binge to get him to come clean. "Billy, you're tired and not yourself now. We can talk after you've had a chance to sleep."

Billy negated that with a small shake of his head. "No, I need to talk now. If you don't want to hear me, I'll keep quiet Jason."

Jason sighed, he didn't want Billy to clam up… but he didn't want him to have a serious discussion several shades shy of sober either. "No, I just want you to be sober when we talk. But if you need me to listen I'll listen to you. Go ahead, please."

Billy shifted to his side so he could look at Jason while he spoke. "Well, I need to apologize for tonight. I was being an immature brat with you. I let my frustration at the current situation over rule my common sense and courtesy. I just wanted a night with you, a date just us. After the wonderful time we had, I only wanted to be with you Jase. I didn't want to think about my father, Alex or the other Rangers. I didn't want to think about the abyss I'm falling deeper and deeper into.

I'm seriously depressed, obviously since I took to the bottle for absolution instead of calling you. I want the pain to stop Jase; I just want it to stop. I feel like I did when mom died. Like I only wanted the pain to end, and then if it meant taking my life I was willing. Now, it means crawling into my own little hole and forgetting about everyone else. I figured the fastest way was to get tanked.

I know I've disappointed you with my behavior tonight, please forgive me. Not right now but eventually. Just please tell me I haven't ruined things between us." Billy sounded so lost and afraid Jason merely held him as he thought about what to say in response.

"Bill, you haven't lost me. Yes, you have disappointed me greatly tonight, but I can't be angry at you just now maybe later. You need help and I would like for you to get it. No one is saying therapy, but you need to do something about what's going on. Not just in your head either. You can't keep ignoring the situation Bill."

Billy sighed and stretched out. He knew Jason was telling the truth about what he needed to do. He just didn't know if he had it in him to cope with all his problems. "Fine, I'll call dad and ask to talk. Maybe that will be my first step. Jason, I…I'm sorry. I know I've said it several times, but I am honestly so sorry for what I did. All I ask is that you help me the next time, and drag me to my feet if I'm stubborn."

Jason gave Billy a long look, as he wasn't sure where Billy was going with his line of logic, but he wasn't going to leave him hanging in the wind after asking for help the next time he felt the need to succumb to the pain.

"Very well, but you have to promise me something. I want your word William Cranston. An oath sworn to me that you will not touch another drop of liquor until you turn twenty one. If I even think you've been drinking I will make you sorry. Do I have your word?"

Billy stared at him with wide eyes, a little frightened at the intensity of Jason's gaze as he held Billy's face in his hands. After a moment of mental deliberating, he gave Jason his word.

"Jason Lee Scott, I give you my word on our bond as friends and lovers that I will not have another drink until after I am at least twenty one years old. I swear it on my mother's grave." Billy lay there, mesmerized by the deep pools that held him in thrall. He couldn't have moved even if he wanted to escape the intense fire in his lover's gaze. Finally Jason let go and sighed. He was really exasperated with Billy at the moment, but he couldn't ignore the fact that Billy had reached out, albeit after the fact of getting shit faced on moonshine.

"You drive me mad sometimes Billy. Since we're talking, I'll give you your tongue lashing and be done with it." Jason checked the small grin that Billy couldn't conceal at his choice of words.

"Don't get any ideas Cranston, at least not yet." Billy only smiled as he gave Jason his undivided attention. "Like I was saying… you drive me mad with your ability to hide your feelings, and to make things your fault. We have been friends since the age of eight. I would like to think you feel secure enough in our friendship, romance aside to come to me instead of turning to the bottle. It hurt me that you chose that, and terrified me as well.

You told me of your families' history, and how you were afraid your father was becoming an alcoholic after your mother's death. I don't know how or if I could cope with you adding yet another problem to the mix; one that could cost you dearly. I love you as my friend, now as my lover and I want you around for the duration. Do you understand how worried I was when you answered?

If you weren't a ranger you would more than likely be in a coma Billy. The Patented Ranger Healing Factor can only do so much for you. You should consider yourself lucky you didn't go into shock or have to be put into detox. Never scare me like that again, do you understand me Billy?" Jason's gaze had become intense again as he spoke, so intense that Billy finally understood what kind of night he had put Jason through.

He snuggled up to Jason and spoke quietly. "Again, I'm sorry for what I did. I wasn't being considerate of you at all. I was selfish. Please forgive me, and yes I do understand now what I did to you. All I can do is swear to you that I'll do my best to come to you the next time I need help. Understand that I am merely human and am liable to fail as well.

I fully allowed my pain and self pity to swallow me whole and what you see before you is what's left. I ask you to forgive me eventually." Billy looked at Jason eagerly, as he hoped he was forgiven at least for the evening.

Jason looked down at Billy and smiled slightly. He figured Billy was doing his best and that's all he could ask for after all. "That's good enough for now Bill. I love you, but you are incorrigible sometimes." Jason planted a soft kiss on Billy's forehead, and cradled him close to his chest.

Billy smiled, and kissed Jason back and turned with his back to his lover so he could be held. "Jase, I love you and thank you for being here now." Billy said it so quietly, Jason had to lean over to hear him.

"Love you too, and you're welcome." Jason kissed Billy on the back of his neck, eliciting a small giggle from him. "Don't tell me, you're ticklish." Jason said with the most devilish gleam in his eyes, which Billy couldn't see fortunately.

Billy cringed slightly, he normally hated being tickled and he could tell from the tone of Jason's voice he was in for a long night. "Yes, certain spots are quite ticklish Jase. The back of my neck being one of the more responsive areas."

Jason smiled and filed the information away for later. He was getting tired and he figured after the rough night Billy had just had, he'd leave well enough alone. "Relax, I'm not going to tickle you now. Let's sleep, but I am keeping that information in my mind for later Bill. Good night."

"Night."

Jason and Billy fell asleep entwined in each other's arms, glad that they were safe and sound. At least until Billy finally sits down and talks with his father…

_Ok, I know it's been forever since I updated but that darn thing called real life got in the way for a while. Tell me what you think and yes, now that I'm on a slower schedule I can get some writing done again. Send feedback, constructive criticism is always welcome._


	11. Tension

Bleu Soliloqui 11

Fair warning, Slash, A/U versions of some of our rangers. Rated R for language and sexiness all around.

This is the third (and probably not the last) time for thanks to Cobalt Blue for the inspiration for continuing, and for contributing to this fic and to my growth as a writer. Very evil grin

**A/N:** Okay, finally on to some of the other fine folk involved in this tale. As always, feedback is welcome and appreciated.

While Billy and Jason had been sorting things out in Forest Creek, the gang had been trying to work through the issues surrounding their alternate versions, the pairing off that had started over the last couple of days and a relationship that was teetering on the edge of oblivion thanks to a few misspoken words. This was a relationship no one thought would end or even be threatened, but the two people involved were learning the hard way that everything isn't as easy as it seems.

Kim had been seething at home ever since she left school, her half hearted offer to speak with Tommy should he call forgotten in her anger. She currently was sitting at her desk, hanging out online with Aisha and Rocky. Adam wasn't on and fortunately neither was Tommy, as it was in his best interest to still give her a wide berth until she was calm.

She started up a private Yahoo! chat room inviting Rocky and Aisha so they could discuss ranger business and what was going on in their lives.

**RedApe04** has joined the PRCHATROOM.

**BearIsh1** has joined the PRCHATROOM

**PinkCraneGirl** has joined the PRCHATROOM

**PinkCraneGirl:** Hey Ish', you feeling any better?

**BearIsh1**: Not really, but I do plan to talk to Alex, he is getting a pretty raw deal with all of this. I realized once I was calm that he didn't ask for this situation. I didn't see him after school to talk about it though.

**RedApe04**: He'll be around tomorrow, don't sweat it Aisha. Besides, he'll probably want to talk once he's calmed down as well. I'm a little worried that we haven't heard anything from our "cousins" in a while.

**PinkCraneGirl:** Oh no need to be so secretive Rock, we're in a private chat room. The other Billy gives me the creeps to be honest. I swear it's what Billy would be like if he ever snapped.

**BearIsh1**: Yeah, he bothers me, he seems a little weird. OK a lot weird but the other Jase and Rocky seem ok to me. It's just really crappy timing that they dropped in now when all of the other stuff's going on.

**RedApe04**: Yeah, but I think they'll be moving soon. My double seems really antsy and even uncomfortable here. I'm sure they'll probably wind up in Stone Canyon or maybe farther north.

**PinkCraneGirl**: True. I think the other Billy and Jase need some space too. William still seemed pretty unstable after he found out that they couldn't get back to their reality.

**BearIsh1**: They probably need you to cover and say their related or in case anyone snoops into where they came from, to say their distant relatives. Say, Kim did you ever talk to Tommy? You seemed pretty steamed when you left school.

**PinkCraneGirl**: No, and I don't plan to either. Not for a few days. I'm so shocked that he'd be that rude, and inconsiderate of me or Billy and Jase. Actually, I was hoping to find Billy. I'm worried about him and he's usually not this bad at hiding his feelings.

**RedApe04**: Yeah, but most people don't get such major issues dropped on them all at once either. I'd leave him alone for now. He's with Jase; he'll come out of it eventually. After all, you said he's like that…ducking his head and waiting for things to blow over?

**PinkCraneGirl**: Yeah, for the most part when it comes to emotions. I guess you're right Rocko… I'll talk to him whenever he shows his face again. Oh well, mom's calling me for dinner. I'll catch you guys later tonight if you're online again. Bye.

**BearIsh1**: Ok, later girl bye. Bye Rocky and thanks.

User **BearIsh1** has signed off at 7:34:55pm EST

**RedApe04**: Bye girls, catch you later.

User **RedApe04** has signed off at 7:35:00pm EST

User **PinkCraneGirl** has signed off at 7:35:07pm EST

User **PinkCraneGirl** has closed PRCHATROOM at 7:35:09pm EST

Kim went down to dinner letting things run around in her head; actually she planned to find Billy no matter what since he was the one she could always turn to in times of crisis. The sticky part of it was talking to him and keeping him from getting pissed off all over again. He was hardly on good terms with Tommy at the moment, but there wasn't anyone else she could really go to. True, Aisha was her close friend, but she wasn't Trini.

Kim sighed wistfully at the thought of Trini, who was thousands of miles away enjoying her turn at saving the word sans powers and spandex. Maybe if Billy was totally missing and made a concerted effort to stay out of reach, she would try Jason. Then again, Jason could be off with Billy as well. 'Damn, why is it the people you _want to talk to_ are never around when you need em'? She pondered as she sat at the table and pretended to be interested in what her mother was talking about. Instead she floated through dinner as she schemed on how to find Billy and or Jason later.

While Kim schemed, William, Jason and Rocky were doing a little plotting of their own to get out of Angel Grove as well as get a start on their new lives. They were in the lounge area of the Command Center discussing their options for school, work and living arrangements. William was sitting kitty corner from Jason and Rocky, thinking aloud to no one in particular.

"I think that if we head to San Diego, put some distance between ourselves and the others but still remain reachable it would be good." William mused as he peered at a map. He sat back and waited for either young man to respond. Jason was looking over the back side of the map that William was browsing.

"San Diego sounds good love. It's not too far away but still in range should we need to join in a battle. Rocko, what do you think?"

"Fine with me. I just want to get going and be done with it. Being stuck here hasn't really sunk in yet and I'm not too thrilled with the idea to be honest. I'd prefer my own space to be honest… and you two need your own space." Rocky put a hand to quell William's protest that was coming any moment. "No arguments. I suggest we contact the others and inform them of our plans tomorrow. Now if you don't mind I need some air." Rocky teleported out without further comment, leaving William and Jason to wonder what was wrong with him.

"Any clue what that was about?" William asked as he leapt to his feet with the grace of his totem animal.

"No idea at all. I'll ask when he comes back. My immediate concern is dinner and then finishing up our packing. Mind if we go out for dinner tonight? Since we all have obtained some funds, I'd like to get out of the Command Center tonight"

"No objections here. Let me grab a jacket and I'll be good to go." Jason smiled as William snagged a light jacket and joined him to teleport out for a romantic dinner. The rest of the evening was going fine for most of the rangers except for a certain Pink Crane. She had ignored every call from Tommy since dinner and was pacing her room determined to find Billy and talk to him. If she knew what he was getting himself into at that moment, she probably wouldn't be that eager to run to him for comfort and maybe more.

Kim stopped her pacing for a moment to consider where that line of thought was leading. True, she and Billy were close but she was treading into dangerous territory with that vein of thinking. She sat down for a moment and traced her thumb over the photo of the bunch she kept on her desk, letting her gaze fall to Billy and letting her mind wander back into the minefield she had planted ages ago. She finally said to hell with it. She was going to locate Billy and talk to him. She checked to make sure her mom was fast asleep and teleported to the command centre.

Fortunately Alpha was asleep, or recharging, which allowed her to run the locator program that Billy had insisted they learn just in case any of the team was hurt or couldn't teleport back on their own.

While Kim wore a path in the floor as she scanned for her wayward friends, Billy and Jason were getting an early but pleasurable start to the day.

Jason awoke with a comfortable weight against his shoulder. Opening his eyes, he looked over to see Billy snuggled up against him. Jason was delighted to realize that Billy was a snuggler. The young scientist might be a very withdrawn person while awake, but like this, he seemed almost child-like in his openness, and vulnerability. It made Jase's heart swell until it was almost going to burst.

Jason himself was not prone to bouts of sentimentality- that was more of Kim's realm, but looking down at the sandy blond haired teen lying there with him; he couldn't help but feel completed. Billy was everything positive that Jason wasn't, and he could literally feel that in some way he was what Billy needed too.

Once again, Billy shifted in his sleep, and threw a leg over Jason's thigh as he wrapped himself around the burly teen, a smile on his sleeping face. Turning and wrapping his arms around Billy, he felt something hard against his upper thigh. Jason smiled to himself and gently ran his hand down Billy's side, across his hips and along the back of his leg, feeling the hardness of the muscle under his skin.

Jason realized that Billy had filled out quite a bit in the past few years. He wasn't quite the timid little boy he used to be. Now, concealed under those baggy overalls was the lean body of a gymnast. As his hand once again traced its path along Billy's body, he felt his own body begin to respond. With a grin he let his hand drop between them, and felt the pillar there. A small moan escaped from Billy's sleeping throat as he pressed himself harder against Jason's hand.

Jason gripped the hardness he felt there under Billy's cotton briefs and was surprised at its girth. He'd seen the Blue Ranger naked before, hell all the male Rangers had shared the Command Center's showers, but he'd never seen Billy hard. He wasn't really that much longer than Jason expected, but the girth was phenomenal- morphinominal even. He was definitely, a grower, not a show-er.

Gently, Jase pushed Billy back to make it easier to reach his target. Still asleep, the Blue Ranger rolled over onto his back as Jason kissed him at the base of his throat. Jason felt the low groan rumble along Billy's lightly furred chest as he kissed his way toward one of the nubs at the apex of the blond's chest.

As he gently sucked the nipple into his mouth, Jason pushed his hand under the waistband of Billy's briefs to gently stroke what he found there. Smiling to himself, Jason dropped lower and gazed at the wide organ that throbbed in his hand Jason breathed in the heady odor, and felt a shudder run through his own body at the scent. A low growl rumbled through the room, and it took a second for Jase to realize with some chagrin that it came from his own throat. He quickly flicked his tongue out and tasted Billy…and smiled at the ability to do that at will.

It had a slight salty taste to it, which sent a shudder down his spine. After several minutes, he felt Billy's hands begin to massage at his shoulders and stroke his head, telling Jason that the Blue Ranger had awakened. Through the ever increasing moans, he heard Billy say, "Jase, swing around. This isn't fair. I can't reach you."

Jason mentally smiled at himself as he complied. Seconds later he felt the cool night air against his buttocks as Billy peeled Jason's own briefs away. Before he knew it, he felt a moist warmth engulf his own turgid length. He then felt Billy pull back and gently nibble at his manhood, sending shivers down his spine.

For long moments they rocked back and forth like that, each taking the other as deeply as he could. Before long, Jason felt the pressure begin to build in his balls. As much as he was enjoying this, it wasn't what he wanted- what he'd been wanting for a long time.

With some reluctance, he pulled back from Billy's spit soaked girth and smiled. Without a thought, he swung around pulling himself from Billy's mouth and straddled his lover. In the faint light of the morning sunrise, he smiled into Billy's sea green eyes and reached behind him to adjust things "just so".

He saw the question in Billy's eyes before it was asked, "Are you sure about this?"

"Never been surer in my life, Bill," Jason told him as he raised himself up. With a great sigh, he sat back down hard.

"Oh," Billy said in surprise as he slipped into Jason for the first of many times.

After a very few moments, they found a rhythm- Billy rising to meet his downward thrusts and then pulling back slightly as Jason rose. Billy reached up and replaced Jason's hand on his own member. The two young men matched their movements in perfect unison as their passion and the power of their thrusts rose. Billy's hand became a blur of motion that pushed Jason over the edge. Suddenly, he felt Billy's girth spasm inside him, and that sent him over the edge. Large ropy gushes of white liquid arched from Jason to splatter in gobs in the light blond fur of Billy's chest as the sun rose through the east window of the bedroom.

Neither young man noticed the flash of pink that landed in the room at that exact moment, and probably would not have noticed it at all if the rhythm of their own breathing hadn't been broken by a definitely familiar, and definitely female voice saying,

"Oh my."

After an eternity to Kim, she'd found Billy… and without thinking about the time or the fact that Billy could have been asleep, she had teleported in to find Billy and Jase in a very awkward position to say the least. "Oh my" was all she could muster in her state of flux…

Kim blushed furiously…Uh, I'm sorry about, uh.., uh... interrupting."

"Kim..." Billy stammered as he blushed crimson to match Kim's coloring. "It's not like you did it on purpose"

I know, it's still, ... Uh Billy, you guys are being safe aren't you..." Billy quirks an eyebrow, and looks at Kim...he's not sure whether to be insulted or relieved that she was thinking of their safety... it was also pretty hard to keep a lid on his temper considering how hard his head was pounding.

Deciding that getting angry wouldn't help, he answered. "How do you mean that Kim?"

Shaking her head, "uh.. never mind." She looks down at the floor and appears to be trying to gather her thoughts. Billy can tell that something has definitely upset his pink friend. Finally she takes a deep breath, and looks up, and Billy wonders if he was reading what he thought he was seeing there right. Was she really checking him out?

"Uh, I kinda' need to talk to you, and uh... since, you've always listened to me before..."

"...true enough. Is it something you're comfortable talking about in front of Jase or would you prefer it to be just us Kim?" Billy looked her over, something was definitely not right with Kim, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions either.

Jase took that as his cue to skedaddle out of the room and make himself useful. He snagged his clothing and crept out of the room, and allowed Bill and Kim their privacy, after all…her sudden appearance was going to require one hell of an explanation. One that wouldn't be made easier if he hovered over Billy as he was wont to do.

Shaking her head, "I think you and I need to talk first, Bill." Billy noticed her eyes kept dropping down to the sheet that he'd pulled over his lap. Between her sudden appearance, and Jason's fumbling disappearance, he'd yet had a chance to do anything about getting dressed- or cleaning up. Billy noticed her that her gaze kept diverting to the sheet that barely preserved his modesty... and filed it for the moment.

"…as you will Kim, but I'd like to have a few moments to regain my decency."

Kim nodded, and turned her back to him to give him a chance to dress. It was obvious that she wasn't going to leave the room. What ever had her upset was obviously cutting pretty deep. Her voice was low as she continued, "It's about Tommy and me...," there was a brief pause, "... and you."

Billy almost dropped the jeans he was fumbling into as he barely heard Kim's words. "Kimberly Ann Hart. You've some explaining to do. What the hell could I have to do with you and Tommy?" Billy finished as he slid down to the floor, kicking the empty moonshine bottle in the process.

Looking at the bottle that came spinning past her, Kim raised a silent eyebrow to her self, but Billy got the feeling she would say nothing at this point.

"Nothing, everything! I don't know anymore, Billy!" She was nearly in tears.

Billy jumped… he didn't expect Kim to explode like that. He reached out to her...a simple gesture but powerful none the less. Suddenly Kim spun around in a flurry of tears she buried her head in Billy's tee-shirt clad chest. "I'm just confused Billy! He's changed, he's gotten colder," she shook her head, "and then William shows up and he's colder." Billy could feel her trembling against his body.

"What is about the green? Does it make everybody hard?"

Muttering into her hair... "I wish i had an answer to that Kim. William has been through some hard times, and yes if I were in his position I'd be as cold or worse. What has Tommy done or said? be honest with me Kim."

She pulls away from him, wiping her eyes on the sleeves of her blouse. Shaking her head she looks up at him, "He's so angry about what William did to his counter-part. He's almost irrational about it," she looked down, he voice growing barely audible, "I'm afraid he's started to take that out on you. You shouldn't have stood up to him about going to Phaedos." She turned away still speaking, "And now you and Jason haven't been to school in a couple of days, seems like you've taken away his best friend..."

A soft growl escaped Billy's throat before he spoke. "I should have stood up to him Kim. Otherwise he'd bully me around like anyone else has tried to. If he had taken the time to see that I had shattered and was slowly trying to put the pieces back, he'd have let me be. Tommy is being his typical self…and it's not helping anyone... I'm not trying to take Jase away...hell Jase is helping me come back to myself"

Kim sighed and sat down next to him on the bed, and leaned her head on the headboard while gathering her knees up in her arms. Billy had never seen Kim like this- so torn. It tore at his heart. "He's so used to being in charge. I think between the story of what happened with Will and his counter part and you standing up to him, he's just a little scared of you." She smiled at him weakly.

Billy couldnt help it... he started to laugh... something had to give in this twisted melodrama and it seemed it was going to be him. Once he stopped...he looked over to Kim.

"Forgive me, but I can't see our Knight in White armor fearing me. His issue with William is one he will have to deal with on his own. If he decides that taking it out on me is the course he wants to take, then I will give him a very good reason to fear me." Billy looked at her with a fierceness that belied his fit of mirth mere seconds before

She chuckled, "Somehow I don't think Tommy sees it that way." She looked down and gathered her thoughts. Sighing heavily she told him, "He sounds weird. He said you disrespected him, disobeyed him." She shook her head, "Does he think we're supposed to obey him? That we're his gang or something?"

Billy snorted... in a way that was uncharacteristic of the young man. "It wouldn't surprise me if he did. He's paying a penance for his crimes against himself and wants, no needs us to be his army to prove he's worthy of his power… to prove he's not going to fuck up again. I have the feeling anyone who dared interfere with St. Oliver's redemption would be getting the short end of his temper. I was the loser in the last round of make Tommy feel better. I can see now why William cracked."

She smiled at him, "Well, the first time he calls me his bitch or his ho, I'm going to hand him his lungs."

Billy smiled at that. "If it ever happened, I'd hand him his balls."

Feeling better at the small joke, she smiled up at him. Reaching out, she touched the face of her oldest friend in Angel Grove. "About Jason..."

Billy looked down at her, slightly afraid for the serious tone of her voice. "What of him? Is this the part where you explain that part of the equation."

She smiled over at him, "yeah." Taking a deep breath, "I always thought that you sort of," she looked down and spoke so softly that Billy barely heard her, "had a thing for me."

Billy blanched...and turned an amusing shade of red.."I.. I.. well..." "At one time perhaps Kim, but have you thought I still carried that torch for you? Even after Tommy came along?"

She blushed deeply. "I guess I'm kind of ashamed of it." She shrugged not looking him in the eye, "I know it's not right, but I always sort of thought that even if Tommy and I didn't work out, that you..."

If Billy had been on his feet, he would have fallen to the ground then and there. It was too much... not Kim, no ... he loved her but like a sister. "I.. uh.. well.. I don't know what to say." He did sway a little, then forced his gaze to meet Kim's. "I'm flattered."

Without looking up she said quietly, "No, Billy. You should be pissed as hell at me." She finally looked up, the pain and self loathing in her eyes cut Billy to the soul. "I was using you, Billy. Maybe not outright, but in my mind I was using you. My best friend in the world and I had reduced you to being someone who'd always be on the standby. I didn't think about you as a person. Just somebody who would always be there if things didn't work out." A tear smeared the mascara on her face as it made shadowlike tracks down her cheek. "I never thought that you might eventually get tired, that you had feelings too." She buried her head in her hands, "Now that you have Jason, you must hate me."

Billy's breath hitched in his throat... he didn't expect Kim to be so raw, so open to him. "I could never hate you Kim." His green eyes sparked with some bitterness, which he shoved down so savagely he almost felt it. "I'll admit that it hurt to hear that now, and it's more emotional detritus I'll have to wade through...but know that I don't and can't hate you." Billy reached over and wiped away the mascara tracks gently, and spoke in low tones.

"Kim, I'm surprised, hurt and somewhat shocked by what you've said to me. But to be fair I've never been open with my emotions with most of you. Even when my mom died, I locked my feelings away, I ducked my head and hoped for some kind of miracle to come along." Billy took a breath... it took all of his will power to keep the tears at bay...

Sniffling she looked up at him with a wan smile. "Boy aren't we a screwed up bunch?" She cupped his hand to her cheek, feeling the warmth there, drawing strength from the boy- no Billy wasn't a boy any more- from the man who'd always been her friend. She looked toward the door through which Jason had left.

"Do you love him? How long?"

"Forever and then some. Too bad it took me falling apart to see it. He saved my life, literally when we were younger Kim." Billy glanced at the door where Jase had beat a hasty retreat so they could talk privately. "Believe me, despite what Tommy may think, I've got the others beat hands down on dysfunctionality in the familial unit."

Nodding up to him she asked, "What are we going to do about our fearless leader and his overblown ego." She shook her head, "You know that once you and him," she nodded knowingly toward the door, "get out that Tommy's going to go ballistic." She gave him a piercing look, "You KNOW that's going to turn into a knock down drag out battle." She shook her head, "He's always been hyper protective of you."

Billy smiled wistfully... "Be glad of it, otherwise I wouldn't be here now Kim. I'll deal with Tommy when the time comes. He's got to learn the hard way that I'm not going to let him shove me around nor will I abide by him mistreating me for what William did to his counterpart. Besides, I'm sure Jase and I will have our hands full once the football team and dumb jocks hear about us." Billy's expression darkened and he looked away as his voice got suspiciously thick...

She reached out and touched Billy's shoulder, pulling him around to face her. "This is the real thing isn't? This isn't Adam's peck on the cheek, or Aisha's crush. What made you realize?"

"The unselfish way that he loves me, has loved me all along. That undid me Kim… to have someone be there for me and me alone."

She nodded and leaned back. "You know, now that I think about it I should have seen it coming. He's always been there for you. You two have been raised almost as brothers as it is. I mean all those times you spent with his family while your dad was out of town...," suddenly she stopped as if sensing she might have gone too far. "I'm sorry Billy. I didn't mean to bring up another sore subject."

Billy pinched the bridge of his nose... a habit honed while he still wore glasses... he stared off for a bit. "No need to be sorry Kim. I can't avoid him or continue to be a prat for much longer. It's hurting me, and I'm sick of the pain, so sick of it I tried to drink myself into oblivion. Yes, I've paid for it, and am still paying in the form a vicious hang over."

She chuckled at him and raised an eyebrow, "I saw. You know if I hear of you taking another drink between now and you're twenty-one," she smiled and shook her head. Billy could tell from her voice that she was not being mean, only deadly earnest, "no in your Mr. Emotional Blockheadedness maybe twenty-five, I'm going to kick your cute wolf butt."

"Hey!" Billy shouted in mock outrage. "I can assure you Kim, I swore on my mothers grave I'd never touch another drop till I was at least twenty one. I don't relish the idea of Jase coming after me for breaking that oath either. so I'm not touching another drop I swear.

She smiled and tweaked his nose, "Good." Leaning back she sighed again. Billy could tell that this conversation was at least as helpful to her as it was to him. "Still, what am I going to do about," she made quotation marks in the air with her index and middle fingers of each hand, "The Lord of the Skies?"

"Tell him the Lord of the Wilds is coming after him for hurting his friend the Crane" Billy said in such a deadly tone Kim had no idea if he was serious or not in his threats.

Deciding to at least keep it as light as possible, she chuckled. "Seriously though Billy. I know you've been going through some problems lately, and Tommy calling you names in front of the others were out of line, but we still ahve to deal with him. He is after all still the Rangers' team leader, that makes him OUR leader, and that means we have to work with him."

"I know Kim... and I've worked it out in my head. Too bad it's been stuck up my ass for the last couple of weeks." Billy chuckled darkly at that. "Once I've had things out with father, Tommy's next on the list, and it's a pretty short list at that."

"Good. I DO love him Billy. It's just that lately, ever since we got back from Phaedos, he's been acting kinda' hard. Like he has to be perfect. It really got bad when Jason came back," she told him. "I think he's afraid that Zordon's going to hand the team back over to Jason or something."

"It would serve him right, the git, but it would kill him and make him lose it all over again if Zordon did do that. If you love, him... tell him." Billy smiled, a cold smile that would normally have been charming on any one but Billy Cranston.

"First, make him beg for it Kim. Make him show you how much he does love you and honors you."

She raised an eyebrow, "You are a one mean man, Bill Cranston. Remind me never to make you mad at me." She smiled at him. "We live in a world ruled by computers," she stopped a moment. "You know, that might be a way of solving your problems with Will and company."

"Already one step ahead Pinky. I need to meet with them, and give them the run down of their lives here and where ever they end up."

"Figures Brain," she grinned back at him. "Okay, so you're going to talk to your dad, then deal with Tommy, and finally help out Will and his friends." She looked down, and sighed. Billy got the feeling that something important was going on her head. She asked quietly, "Before you and Jase tell everyone else, can I ask for something?"

He nodded, as no longer trusted his voice for some reason

She looked up at him, something burning in her eyes. Something that reached out to his soul, something that connected him to her- it was a good-bye- not to him, but to what she'd seen him as. "Will you kiss me- just once?"

Billy swallowed..thats not what he expected. "uh.. uh..." for once in his life, Billy cranston was struck dumb. He stood there, unsure of what do with Kim or himself

Sensing his discomfort, she smiled and looked down. "Never mind. You don't have to. I understand."

Her sad tone snapped him out of his stupor. "No, I , um just didn't expect that Kim. I won't deny you ... not when you bore yourself to me." He held out his hands, and hoped she'd come to him. He didn't think his legs would move of his own free will any time soon.

She smiled up at him. "Thank you," Leaning in she took his hands and kissed him on the lips. At first it started out as a simple chaste kiss, but to Kim it was a good-bye. A farewell to what wasn't, what never would be, but what she thought might someday be. She deepened it, savoring the feel of him, a feel she knew she would never have, and bid farewell to her childish sense of selfishness. This man was one of the most important people in her life, and when this kiss ended their relationship would never be the same again. He would forever be Jason's.

Speaking of Jason, suddenly his amused voice interrupted their passion, "I go and get us three breakfast and I come back and find one of my oldest friends making the moves on my boyfriend. Gee Kim! I thought you were my friend."

Billy let himself enjoy the last moments of their oral duel, but caught unaware stepped back at Jason's voice. "It's not like that Jase." He stepped out on the balcony, his eyes wet and voice lost in the emotion of what had passed between him and Kimberly

"How long have you been standing there?" Kim asked Jason blushing down to her toes.

Jason raised an eyebrow, "Long enough to know the truth Kim. Long enough to know the truth."

"And that truth is?"

Jason smiled, "That that wasn't what it might have seemed to be if I'd come in a few minutes later."

Billy smiled on the balcony, relieved at Jason's words. He got himself in order, and came back in to silently hug Jason and bury his head in his shoulder. "Thanks" was all Billy whispered in a tear roughened voice...

Jason stroked his lover's hair, and smiled over to Kim, "its okay, Bill. I understand." He gently held the Blue Ranger as he felt all the tension leave the smaller young man.

"I won't say I'm sorry, Jase," Kim smiled at him, "Because you know what it really meant." She grinned at him, "But I will say this. I always knew you were a class act, and I hope to God that you two will be happy together." She came over to him and gently reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

"I wouldn't have it any other way Kim." He returned her kiss and smiled gently. "Now, care for some breakfast"?


	12. Early morning realizations

Bleu Soliloqui

Chapter 12?

BleuWoulfe & Cobalt-Blue

Fair warning, Slash, A/U versions of some of our rangers. Rated R for language and angst.

Thanks to Cobalt Blue for the inspiration for continuing, and for contributing to this fic and to my growth as a writer. At this point, I'm naming him co-author… since we've collaborated so much on the last few chapters.

Kim, Billy and Jason enjoyed a quiet breakfast in Billy's room, without many words spoken until Billy got up to stretch and step out on the balcony for a moment. His sudden move away from them sparked Jason's habit of worrying about his little bro'. He stepped out on the balcony and stood next to Billy, to show him he was there if he wanted to talk.

Billy glanced over at Jason, smiled and turned back to his contemplation of the woods. He finally spoke up after staring a hole into the skyline. "I'm going to call Dad today, go talk to him and the step family. I need to go alone, but I do plan on telling him about us. I'd like to tell your family soon if that's ok with you, Love."

Jason swallowed, he didn't expect Billy to want to go public so soon and the fact that he had just called him "love" undid the burly young man who latched onto Billy and startled him.

"Sure Bill, whatever you think is best." Jason nipped at his earlobe and whispered in his ear. "I love you Billy." Before stepping back into the room, if Billy hadn't been so shocked by the display of affection he'd have noticed the thickness in Jason's voice. Billy went back to Jason, looked into his midnight eyes and smiled.

"You unravel me Jase, I don't know how or why but damn it all you do. I love you too, and I hope I always have a chance to tell you that, every day of my life. Now, I have to start mending fences, I just hope that I can control myself. I'll call you later ok?"

"Sure thing, I'll be at home or the Youth Centre if you need me. Bye love." Jason stood and turned to Kim to offer a ride back.

"Kim, you riding with me?"

She smiled and shook her head. She lifted an arm, and indicated her communicator.

"Nope, I'm riding the Ranger Express back home. It would be hard to explain to mom where I went and why you were dropping me off at this time of morning. It was already bad trying to avoid explaining my conflict with Tommy to her. I'll call that blockhead when I "get up" and see if he wants to meet for lunch. I should head out too; mom will be expecting me up soon."

"Bye Kim, catch you later. " Billy gave her a brotherly kiss on the cheek and waved her off as she disappeared in a stream of pink. He looked over to where Jason was shutting his pack and coming for a good-bye kiss.

"Please, be careful and keep your temper under control, Love. This won't be easy, but I know you'll be fine." Jason sealed his words with a kiss that stole the air from Billy's lungs, and made Bill reconsider leaving right away for his father' house.

"Kiss me like that again and I won't be going anywhere." He smiled at Jason and then made shooing motions at him, "Off with you before I call this off again. I'll collect on the rest of that kiss later, provided we can be alone tonight."

"Sure, Bill. I'll see you later, no matter what happens. Now, I'd better leave before I have my wicked way with you again." Jase chuckled and kissed Billy on the forehead then departed the room.

Billy looked at the phone, sighed and dialed his home; he hoped that his father would answer and not his new stepmother or stepbrother. Maybe Alex was there. At the thought of Alex, Bill felt a pang of remorse. He'd basically ignored Alex since that night at Jason's, seems he had more mending to do than originally intended. He's brought back as his father answers the phone.

"Cranston residence, Lance speaking."

"Um… hi it's me." Billy closed his eyes and hoped his father wouldn't hang up or flip out.

"Hi, I guess you want to speak with Alex." Cool detachment, as if he's resigned to me being a prat and hating him. _Not good._ Billy thought.

"No, I wanted to talk to you actually. I… I've been thinking about the situation and I'm ready to talk dad. I can't avoid you forever, and I won't be chased from my home. Can I come back and talk things over?"

The silence on the other end went on a little too long for Billy, who sat there with the phone in his hand, and wondered if he'd gone too far finally and wouldn't be allowed back home. Finally, he heard his dad calling his name.

"William, you there?"

"Yeah, I was worried that you were angry and were thinking of a way to tell me no, you screwed up, stay gone. Go-"

His piteous rant is stopped by Lance cutting him off. "Billy stop it, I'm not about to tell you any such thing. Get your tail back to the house; I'll be here when you get home. Besides, Alex is miserable without you here, so miserable he stayed over at Adam's last night. Your new stepbrother, Dante is, well a handful. We'll talk when you get home. I miss you son, and I still love you no matter what."

"Same here dad, see you in a bit, bye." Billy hung up, packed his things and bid his uncle farewell.

"I'm heading home, thanks Uncle. I appreciate your generosity, and if I can ever re-pay you for this--" Billy's cut off for the second time that morning.

"No need to thank me Bill. We're family and that's what we do." He leans over and whispers in Billy's ear. "Thank me by staying away from the moonshine till your legal."

If Billy hadn't been signing the register to check out, he'd have fainted. He looked up at his uncle with a shame-faced look that spoke of his guilt. "How did you know?"

"House keeping and the way Jason came tearing in here looking for you. Next time, come talk to me. Now get going. Lance is probably wearing a hole in the floor waiting for you. I'll be here if you need to come back. Hopefully I won't need to hold that room for you."

"So do I" Billy finished his check out, gave his uncle a brief hug and then headed home. On the drive back, he had plenty of time to calm down but he wondered what his father could have meant by his stepbrother being a "handful". While he made his way back to the house, Alex and Adam were meeting for breakfast at the Park's.

Alex missed Billy's call that morning and at that moment could've cared less since he was pleasantly engaged in some early morning tongue dueling with Adam before they went down to breakfast. What they didn't know is that Adam's little brother was watching them, not quite sure why his brother would be kissing Billy's brother. He snuck off as the boys broke for air and realized they needed to get downstairs for breakfast before Adam's parents call them down.

"We'd better stop it for now before your folks catch us." Alex said as he leaned into Adam to catch his breath.

"Yeah you're right. I'm surprised they let you stay in my room all night. Hell I'm not complaining though. C'mon, let's go before mom comes up to call us." Adam said after straightening his clothes and giving Alex a smoldering look. "Later, we can pick up where we left off."

"Excellent, lead on Park." Alex says as he enjoys watching the lithe form in front of him. They arrived at the table to find the Park's and Adam's little brother Adrian smiling wickedly at them. Adam dismissed it as they sat down to breakfast, and took the proffered mug of coffee.

"Coffee Bil- I'm sorry, Alex?"

"Thanks Mrs. Park, and don't worry about it. Dad almost slipped and called me Billy the other night. We're still adjusting to things." Alex said quietly, he was having a hard time, a lot harder than he was willing to admit. Adam said nothing, but vowed to speak with Alex alone when they had the chance.

Breakfast went well until Mr. Park asked Alex about school and settling in. "Alex, have you transferred to Angel Grove high yet?"

"Yes sir, I'm actually in a lot of classes with Adam. I have a couple with Billy, but I'm glad we're not in every class together. It hopefully will make things easier to adjust to."

Adrian snickered, he couldn't help it as he thought of something funny to say but debated whether or not Adam would kill him for it later.

"What's with you Adrian? What's so funny?" Adam asked, since Adrian was usually behaved around company he wondered what was up with his younger sibling.

"Nothing. I just thought you'd two have more time to kiss since you're together all day at school." Adrian's smile died on his lips as Adam went white in fear of what his parents would do, and Alex looked as if he could throttle the younger Park bare handed.

Adam slunk under the table as he heard his mother start to laugh, and his father reached under the table and hauled him back to his seat. "Son, you are not going to take up residence under the table now get up."

Adam got up and glared at Adrian, who looked as if he was in mortal peril from his brother and his brother's friend. "You are so dead Adrian; I suggest you sleep with your eyes open for the next week." Adam said as he clenched and unclenched his fists on the table. Alex had closed his eyes and was counting to ten to gather his composure.

"Mr. and Mrs. Park, I… I don't know what to say to you. We certainly didn't mean to have you find out like this. Adam, what's done is done. Nothing we can do about it now."

Adam quirked one side of his mouth before he jumped up and ran after Adrian, who had the good sense to run…while Adam tried to throttle his younger sibling, Billy had arrived at his home and was trying to locate his father.

"Dad, where are you?"

"I'm in the study Billy," his father calls out to him.

"Hello father. Are they here?

Lance stands up from the long library table they'd had put in the study a few years back. It was almost a genuine antique, being huge and made of solid maple. Sitting on the table was a warmer and two cups of coffee. "I thought we could talk in here, like we used to."

Billy nodded and made his way to the table, he let his fingers trail over the marks in the table. His fingers lingered at the deep gouges he had made the night his mother was killed, when he assaulted the wood instead of himself... before he succumbed to his grief.

"You've made coffee, thank you."

"I've noticed it sort of helps us communicate," his father said with a soft smile. Sighing he leaned back in the leather chair and looked at his son, "Look Bill, I've royally screwed things up. I'm sorry. I don't have anyone to blame but myself. I should have told you about Alex a long time ago, but I really didn't have the right. Part of it was David's decision too. As for Megan and Dante, well that one is ENTIRELY MY fault. I really don't know what I was thinking springing it on you like this." He looked down at the deep blackness of his coffee, "I guess I was afraid that you'd hate her. That you'd think she was trying to replace your mom."

Billy looked into his coffee, not sure how to respond without sounding like a recalcitrant child. "As far as Alex and I are concerned... you owe him a great deal of explanations as way of an apology. How do you think he feels knowing you kept me and not him?" Billy held up a hand..."Let me finish my thought. I was and still am furious about this lie I've lived. All the times I wished I had a sibling to talk to, especially when I came home from school after being picked on and mistreated, or when I came in to an empty house because you had to work. He was raised with the luxury of both parents, or so he was led to believe, and that's damn unfair to him."

"What's even more unfair is the fact that he attended his mother's funeral and didn't have a chance to properly say farewell. You and Uncle David owe him a price that can never be repaid. The fact that you all have to live with that deception is a price you'll pay in more ways than you can imagine, karma is a cruel mistress that won't forget this dad."

Lance looked over at his son, "I know, Bill. I know. We kept too much from you, and to be honest, there were times right after we moved here I wanted to tell you. Right after your mother died, I wanted to just pack you up, take you back to Chicago and tell you everything." He sighed, "You were so sad. You were like the walking dead, and I was caught up in my own grief, my own lies that I had no idea of how to help you." Some memory brought him a smile that reached his eyes. "Then you met Jason, and then Zack and Kim and Trini, and for the first time you weren't alone. I couldn't bring myself to take them, to take _him_ away from you."

Billy looked at Lance sideways when he mentioned taking him away... "What did you mean, "To take _him _away from you?"

"Jason," Lance said. "Since you met him, there's been a light in your eyes that I thought had gone out for good. I could never take that away from you, not for all the relatives in the world." He shrugged, "So I stayed. I stayed and kept my mouth shut dreading the day it was all going to blow up in my face."

Billy fell silent. Had it been there the whole time? Was he the only one who had been blind to the love Jason had for him all this time? He looked down, not trusting his voice for the moment. He refilled his mug and sat down, his voice low and subdued. "I...thank you. Valiant as your reasons were, the cost was too high. It's going to take a lot to regain my trust, Father. I've been broken by all of this, and it's going to take a lot to make it right."

Lance nodded, "I know, Son. I shouldn't have lied to you. I'm not trying to blame anyone else or even avoid it. I'm simply trying to explain my reasons." He sipped his coffee, somehow finding the liquid less bitter than the truth he was swallowing now. "I do hope that you will give me a chance to redeem myself. And you'll give Megan and Dante a chance."

Billy looked at his father, not sure how he'd cope with a stepmother and brother suddenly in their home. As well as Shanna being back in their lives. Until a few days ago he'd believed her the scum of the earth, unworthy of redemption for any reason. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "That will take some work. I still can't believe you didn't have enough faith in me to tell me. Did you think I would throw a tantrum and pout like I did when I was thirteen? When I understood nothing nor cared that you needed someone in your life, did you think I'd be so shallow or unyielding?"

Lance shook his head, "No Bill. I realize what you were going through then. And I realize what you are capable of handling now. Lying had just become so easy. I hope you never find out how easy it can be to lie. How you might start out lying to save someone from pain, and before long you just lie because you don't know how to stop, because it's all built up to the point that you don't know what would happen if the truth ever got out."

Billy, to his credit didn't blink or give anything away... but his conscience slapped him pretty hard when his father's words sunk in. "I guess I can understand that."

"Like when Uncle Bradley beat me those times he watched me and I never said anything, until mom heard me crying and flipped out."

Lance looked down again feeling bad for yet another time when he hadn't been there for his son. Finally looking up at his son not knowing what really to say, he just sighed and told the truth. "I don't know if that's a good analogy or not, Bill. That was a time when you should have said something, _when I should have known something_..." he stopped and just dropped his head, a silent tear rolling down his face. "God, what a mess I've made of things."

Billy looked at Lance, really looked at his father for the first time since this whole debacle started. He wanted to stay furious at his father, but he couldn't do that any longer. He reached over and wiped away his tears. "Dad, Lance... please don't cry. Yes, you've made a mess of things, and now we have to work through it. I didn't react well, you didn't come clean in a good way and neither of us considered Alex it seems. The problem now is, how do we set things right?"

Lance looked up and smiled weakly at Billy. Billy knew that because he and his father never really touched that much, his friends sometimes wondered if he was really loved at home. But what he saw in his father's eyes removed any doubt. There was love there, it was just held at bay by what was sometimes called "The Cranston Way", a respectable distance. He smiled to himself and thought they'd been born in the wrong century; they should have been born in the nineteenth century. "I think maybe we sit down, all of us and work this out. It can't be easy on Megan and Dante either. Their lives are being rearranged too." He shook his head and smiled,

"What she must think of me?"

"It can't be too bad; she still married you after all. Did she know of Alex before or after you took her as your wife? She must think I'm an insufferable bastard considering how I've acted since her arrival."

"She knew. We all talked about it before telling you and Alex. It was sort of a dry run through. I asked Dante what he thought about how you would react; after all he's about your age." He laughed wanly, "Boy was that a bad idea. He didn't think you'd have a problem with it."

"Then he has no idea what it's like to be abused, lied to and mistreated for being who you are.

"Abused for being who you are?" Lance asked, then as the realization of what Billy meant sunk in he said, "Oh. I see what you mean." He shook his head, "No, I guess he hasn't exactly faced that. It was probably a mistake asking him for his opinion on how you'd react." He reached out and touched his son's shoulder. "I'm sorry Bill. I really should have given it more thought."

"So you've admitted dad. Now, let's work on getting things back to how they were, at least with Alex and me. You're our father and he's not coping as well as he'd like to let on, especially if he stayed at Adam's last night. I've done him wrong as well, by not being there for him. There's a lot of blame as well as lot of mending to be done. Just promise me that you won't ask Dante his opinion on something as emotionally delicate as this again please."

Lance chuckled, "You have a deal on that Billy." He grinned at his son, "So, did Jason stay at the cabin with you last night?"

Billy blushed furiously... he couldn't help it as he flashed back to the pleasurable way he'd been awakened. "Yes" was all Billy muttered as he smiled to himself.

"Good. I didn't like the idea of you being up there all by yourself, I knew he wouldn't let you get into any trouble," Lance said. "He's a good kid."

"Who's a good kid?" Megan asked from the door where she stood with her son Dante.

Lance looked over at his new wife and stepson. He was glad that they were finally getting the chance to have this conversation as a family.

"A friend of Bill's, Jason." He looked over at Bill and said, "Why don't you go call Adam's and ask Alex to come home. I think we all need to sit down and talk as a family."

Bill nodded and got up to grab the phone. He dialed the Park's number and was answered by Sienna Park, who sounded as if she was in the middle of laughing her head off. "Park residence, Sienna here."

"Um hi, is Alex still there? This is Billy, and I would like to speak with him if he is still there with Adam"

"Yes, he is Billy, hold on I'll get him for you." "Alex, its Billy for you."

"Yeah, Bro," Billy noted that even Alex had fallen into using the male Rangers' favorite nickname. "What's up? Is the 'rental unit still on the war path?"

"No, I'm actually here now. Dad would like you back here, so we can have a family discussion. For what its worth, I'm sorry for what I haven't done to help you with everything, and I'll explain myself later. When will you be here?"

"How about 10 minutes if I can get a ride back from Adam? See you all soon, and thank you. Bye bro'."

"Bye Alex." Billy hung up the phone, and turned to meet his stepmother and brother. "Hello ma'am, Dante."

Dante nodded to Billy and said, "'lo."

"Pleasure to finally meet you Billy, Lance has told me a lot about you, and Alex. Did we interrupt anything?"

Lance got up and went over to them and kissed his wife on the cheek, her chocolate complexion blushing at the so un-Cranston like contact. "Looks like you bought out the store." he grinned.

"Well, Dante is growing like a weed, and I wanted to get some things for Billy and Alex, if you'll have them Bill."

For some reason Meg didn't feel right calling the young man before her Billy... it didn't suit him for some reason, but calling him William was too formal in her eyes.

"I appreciate that ma'am. It was very kind of you to think of us on your excursion today." Billy stared at her, not sure what to call her... he'd be damned to the n'th level of hell if the word mom ever crossed his lips in reference to the woman standing in the doorway. Calling her Mrs. Cranston would be absurd, but he wasn't sure how she'd react to being called by her given name by her stepson either.

"Hello, Lance," Dante said as he eyed Billy up and down. "Yo' Bill."

"What's all this talkin' business? Since when do we sit down an' talk with other folk?" the youth asked his mother.

"Dante, mind yourself. There's a lot going on here, and amongst civilized folks people talk about their issues. Besides, you haven't been very cordial to Alex and I didn't miss the way you sized up Bill. Now behave yourself young man."

Billy said nothing as he observed the mild dressing down Dante had received and felt a little bit of sorry for the younger boy who had been thrust into the situation.

"Dante, there are things that need to be said if we are all to live together peacefully. I've been rather put out by the whole situation, as I'm sure you have. However, Alex does not deserve anyone giving him a hard time now, especially someone he has to live with."

"Yes ma'am," Dante looked over at Billy and then at his new stepfather. Now that was an idea he was going to have to get used to. His own father was never around, and now he had some new guy coming into his life to try and tell him what to do.

"Go on, put your things away. I'll call you when Alex gets home. No more back talk, you hear?"

"Look, it's going to take about ten minutes before Alex gets here," Lance said. "He looked over at Dante and asked, "Do you drink coffee Dante?"

Dante grabbed his things and headed toward the stairs. Looking back at the other man in shock he answered reflexively, "Never tried it."

Billy bit his tongue. He wanted to verbally crack the kid one over the head. Instead he sighed and poured a fresh mug of coffee. "Do you take coffee ma'am?"

"I do, and please call me Meg or Megan. Ma'am makes me feel old. I'm sorry about Dante. He's been like that since the divorce and it hasn't helped that we've moved a lot since then. He rarely sees his father and it's starting to show in his attitude."

"Here you go Megan. I can understand how he feels to a degree. He's younger than I am correct?"

"Yes, he's a sophomore. I take it you and your friends are seniors? I was hoping he'd do well once we moved from LA, but he's still a little ornery."

Lance smiled at that interchange. He knew that if Megan wasn't careful that she would fall into the same trap that most adults did around Bill, thinking of him as an adult instead of a teenager. Marjorie Scott once told him that she thought Billy was the most frighteningly self-sufficient young man she'd ever met.

"He'll get used to Angel Grove soon enough." He grinned at the woman, "At least the parts that doesn't include monsters attacking every other day." He shook his head,

"Nobody ever gets used to that part."

Billy caught his father's smile; he had a hint of what his father was thinking. "Yeah that part really sucks, especially when parts of town are shut down due to the attacks."

"Billy," Lance told him. "Find another word."

Billy blinked... "I'm sorry, what did I say?"

"I think you can find another word to use in front of your stepmother than sucks," he told Billy, but there was no real censure in his voice, only a gentle reminder of his manners.

"Okay..." Billy caught himself before he rolled his eyes. "Forgive me Megan; I didn't realize my choice of vocabulary would be considered so vulgar." Billy couldn't help but smile at his father.

"Either way, the monster attacks are an unfortunate fact of life here. Although you lived in Los Angeles, I'm sure stranger things have happened to you."

Lance chuckled to himself. It seemed that he and Billy had a lot farther to go than he thought. Of course he realized that there might still be a bit of orneriness in Billy too.

"Somehow I don't think that three hundred foot erasers attack downtown Los Angeles very often," he told his son. Pouring another cup of coffee for himself, he looked over at Billy. "Perhaps you can suggest some activities in which Dante could get involved? Maybe take him to the Youth Center and introduce him to your other friends?"

"I'll do that father... and I hope that 300 foot erasers attacking other towns isn't a common occurrence. If it is, I'm moving back to Chicago to finish school."

Lance chuckled again, "I might just join you, Son." Then turning to where Dante was arriving, "Want to try a cup of coffee?" Realizing that the boy probably couldn't pass up a challenge he added, "Of course I have to warn you. The way Bill and I make coffee, most people can't take it." He leaned in close to Megan and said… "Tommy once accused me of trying to poison him with it. He said it kept him up for three days with the coffee jitters."

Dante shrugged, "Sure I'll try a cup." He grinned over at Billy. "I'm sure it won't be too bad."

Billy smiled, sat back and waited for the fireworks to begin. He had witnessed the jitters Tommy had first hand, and waited to see what would happen to Dante once he sipped some of his dad's brew.

Meg sat back; leaned against Lance and smiled... she knew when her son had bitten off more than he could chew.

Lance poured the cup of coffee, and asked "Cream and sugar?"

The tall youth shrugged and said, "I'll drink it however he drinks it?" he nodded to Billy sitting there.

"Oh, boy," Alex's voice broke in. "This oughta' be good. I won't even touch the stuff _he_ drinks. According to Adam, the Rangers use that stuff to power their giant robots."

Billy fell out of his chair with a thud.

Lance just shrugged but spooned in only one extra spoonful of instant to the brew, not Billy's usual three. Not even Lance made coffee strong enough for his son. He knew better than give the boy Billy's usual. "Here you go."

"What?" Alex asked.

Billy looked up at Alex. "Dante's trying dad's coffee, the way I drink it. Should be interesting."

Dante took the cup from Lance and smiled before taking a long draught. He turned the most interesting shades of brown as the fiery liquid burned a line to his stomach. Lance was impressed in that he managed to not sputter. Not even he would try to drink the coffee Billy made. Looking over at his other son he said, "I think we all need to sit down and talk Alexander. We're all going to be a family, and we might need to get some things out in the open."

"Yes sir," Alex told him. Turning to his stepmother, he said, "Hello, Megan."

"Hello Alex, would you like any coffee before we begin?" Billy asked innocently as he poured his umpteenth cup of the day.

"The stuff you drink?" Alex asked. "No thanks. I have no desire to climb the walls tonight." He grinned over at Billy, "If everything here goes well, I have a date."

"Oh really, what's her name?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Alex teased his brother. "If you wouldn't run off all the time, you might just figure out which one of your friends is taking me to the movies." Then turning to Megan and Lance he said, "If that's all right with you guys." Megan shrugged; she didn't see it as her place to tell them where to go and what to do.

"I would like to know, and I'll find out Alex. At the moment, we have more important things to discuss."

Alex grinned at his brother and slipped past him toward the other side of the table. Leaning down he whispered in his ear, "Here I thought you were the great intellect. Who said it had to be a her?"

He made his way over and sat down. Raising an eyebrow at Dante, and Megan he asked. "Am I the only person here who feels comfortable enough to sit?"

Billy glared at Alex, as he let his agile mind run over whom it could be and by process of elimination came up with one possible answer. "I'll join you bro... and once we're done here, you and I will talk."

Alex grinned back at his brother, "What's gotten into you Billy?"

"Never mind," Lance told both boys.

"Nothing that hasn't gotten into you Alex."

"Never mind what?"

"And you thought I was being rude?" Dante said to his mother.

"You were and so are they at the moment. Boys, your father is trying to talk to you."

The tall chocolate skinned youth plopped down into a chair next to Lance as his blood began to thrum from the coffee. He looked over at his step dad, grinned and offered a hand, "Hi, I'm Dante, your new stepson. Maybe if we start this, those two will get their act together." He grinned over at his mom, "Is that better?"

"Much better Dante, thank you." Meg smiled affectionately at her son, and laid a comforting hand on his arm.

Lance chuckled, took the boys hand and played along, "Pleased to meet you. I'm Lance, your new step dad." He raised an eyebrow and turned to the other boys.

"Which brings us to the first order of business. I know this has been sudden, and I apologize for it." He looked over at Alex, "And you and I really need to have a talk sometime soon Alex. I have a lot to apologize to you for too."

Turning back to the others he said, "Which brings us to the next order of business. "How will you guys refer to Megan and I." He looked at Billy, "I will understand and I'm sure Megan would too if you don't want to call her mom."

Dante broke in, "Isn't she good enough for them?" he asked defensively.

Lance shook his head and looked to Billy, "It's not that..."

"Dante, I'm not comfortable calling her mom... nor will I probably ever be that comfortable enough to call her mom. I don't expect you to call him dad either, but if you're not comfortable with that I respect that. I'm sure your mom is a wonderful woman, and its obvious dad loves her. Isn't that good enough for you?"

Dante looked at Billy, "Why not? Is it because she's black?"

Billy blinked... "Excuse me? What does that have to do with anything?"

Alex and Billy looked at each other in amazement, since they hadn't dealt with such thinking from anyone.

Lance reached out and put a hand on Dante's arm, "No, Dante," he told the boy. Giving his son a "forgive me" glance he said, "It's because Billy lost his mother. She died in a car accident when Billy was nine. Billy was there when it happened. It has nothing to do with your mom or her or your skin color. Do you really think your Uncle Clayton would have introduced us if that were the case?"

Billy held his tongue with all the restraint he could muster, and Alex put his hand on Billy's shoulder. He shook his head to negate whatever vitriol was about to issue forth from his brother.

Dante shook his head, "I don't know. I hope not." He looked over at Billy not really sure what to say. He realized he had jumped to conclusions, but it was what he was used to dealing with in L. A. He muttered a brief, "Sorry man."

"No problem, I know this is hard. Is your Uncle Clayton, Clayton Taylor, Zack Taylor's father?"

"Yeah, he's mom's brother." Dante said a bit surly. Then realizing what Billy was asking, he asked, "You know Zack? He's in Sweden or Switzerland or some place over in Europe now at some kind Peace Conference."

"He and I grew up together; he's one of my best friends. He's in Switzerland now, doing very well at the Conference last I heard from him."

"Cool," Dante said, his face brightening a little. Of course he didn't say that he and Zack were never THAT close but Billy didn't have to know that.

"So what do you want to call Megan?" Lance asked then turned to his wife and asked her,

"What do you want them to call you?"

Billy looked up from the table. "If it's ok, I'm fine with Meg or Megan as you requested. I'd prefer to be called Bill or William. Billy seems a bit... childish.

"You can call me Meg or Megan as I said. I hope my calling you Bill and you Alex is fine. I didn't expect you to call me mom, ever."

Billy smiled a bit...He and Zack were now related... funny how things worked. "Does Zack know of the marriage? This means he and I really are related now. I can't wait to tell him the news."

Lance shook his head, "Not unless Clayton has told him since yesterday." He turned to Dante, "Is Lance okay with you?" he asked.

The younger boy nodded and grinned, "its fine with me Pops."

Billy growled under his breath... he didn't like the flippant tone Dante took with his father, as if this was some game. Fortunately Meg beat him to it.

"Dante Fitzpatrick! Watch your tone with Lance. He's still your stepfather and my husband. You will respect him, am I clear?" She said in a tone that brooked no argument.

Dante looked abashedly at Lance and said, "Sorry Lance."

Lance just smiled, "That's okay. At least someone around here hasn't lost their sense of humor." Then turning back to all three boys. "As far as what we expect out of you, it's the same as always. Keep your grades up and keep out of trouble." He looked at Billy.

"And I expect you to show these two what to do in case of a monster attack."

"Will do, I wouldn't want anything to happen to my little brothers." Of course he really had very little idea of what to do in case of one except to run. After all, he was usually out there on the front lines fighting the blasted thing. "Now if I may be dismissed, I need to have a word with you about your "date" Alexander. "

"Not quite yet," Lance said. "We still have some other arrangements to work out. Meg and I have looked at another house." Seeing the concern in Billy's face, he said, "Not to worry, it's only a few blocks from here." He shrugged, "You'll be a little closer to Jason and a little farther from Kimberly." He grinned, "Which will probably make Tommy happy." He sighed, "There's plenty of room for everyone there, but until then, I think that maybe, Billy and Alex should share Billy's room and Dante can take the extra bedroom." He purposely avoided calling it the Guest Bedroom.

Billy arched an eyebrow... he didn't want to share his room. He really didn't; not even with Alex. It was going to make being a Ranger that much harder. "And how soon would this move take place?"

"As soon as we can close. Probably in a month or so," Lance told him. He grinned, "And there's a large extra building out back complete with water and electricity for your lab."

"Lab?" Dante asked. "You have a lab?"

"Yes... its one of my extracurricular activities." Billy caught the snarl that was threatening to mar his neutral demeanor. "I take it you bid on the house and are awaiting approval of the buy?"

Lance nodded, "Actually we have an option to back out, but we didn't want to lose such a large house. You know the really big one over on Crawford Street? The one with the pool?"

"Yes, its quite nice... I had no idea the former tenants had departed the premises. I wonder what made them move?" Billy drummed his fingers, his left hand finding that spot on the table without fail. He looked at his father with suspicion barely concealed, but said nothing else. "If you get the house, I'm sure it will be more than adequate for the family's needs"

Lance gave his son a careful look. He wasn't sure if Billy was retreating behind his walls again or not. He really didn't like seeing the boy hurting like this. He suspected that having to room with Alex as well as having his brother have a date with one of his friends was making him a little nervous. He smiled, "I'm glad you understand about this Bill. As long as it was just us, this house was fine, but with such a large family now, we need a bigger place." He grinned at his son and tossed out a comment he knew would get a smile, "Now you get a little taste of how Rocky must feel with his seven brothers and sisters."

"And I'm sure I'll adjust... after all it's only a temporary situation." Billy smiled, but not in the way that his father had hoped. It was a bitter smile, full of resignation about the situation.

"Well, if this discussion is over, I'd better make room for my brother."

Meg looked up with a smile...'Oh yes, your date... when do we get to meet the lucky girl Alex?"

Alex looked up at his step mom. He shrugged and looked over at Billy, "Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound: Actually HIS name is Adam."

Billy did fall out of his chair that time. "WHAT!"

"Uh, yeah," Alex said. "He and I sort of hit it off after you and Jason went up to the cabin."

"How nice." Billy said as he looked like he was going to faint. "Do his parents know?"

"Actually yes, that's what was going on when you called. His parents took it quite well actually. His mom was still laughing since Adam was chasing Adrian around the living room for busting us."

"Busting you," Billy asked. "Just what happened?"

Alex nodded, 'Yeah, Adrian caught us kissing this morning and told his parents at the dinner table."

"Wait a minute?" Dante asked, "You're date is a GUY?"

"Adrian caught you kissing?" Billy asked.

Alex nodded and repeated, "Apparently he saw us kissing, and blew our cover... Adam looked like he was going to beat him senseless when he got his hands on the boy."

"Yeah, what about it?" Alex asked, all humor gone from his voice...

Dante shook his head and looked over at his mother, "That ain't right man."

"Why do you say that? Its not like you've never seen gay people, we did live in LA.," his mother asked.

"But I have to live with one. What are the brothers going to say?" He looked back and forth between Billy and Alex. "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve."

Billy glared at Dante..."Watch it Dante... and you have to live with _two_." With that Billy left the table, slammed the door and went in search of Jason. Alex sat there with a nasty gleam in his eyes.

"Dante, I think you just made a very bad mistake. I don't know who died and made you king but the last time I checked you were still younger than us, new to this town and this home. I suggest you take some time and think about what you've said." Alex nodded to his father and took his leave of them.

Megan was furious...she hadn't taught her son to be so narrow-minded, and she would be damned if he was going to bring such disharmony to their new home.

"DANTE FITZPATRICK! Get your butt up to your room NOW, NOT A WORD... not one WORD."

Dante looked shocked at his mother but nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

Lance got up and looked over at Dante. "We'll talk later," he said and then headed out toward the front door to catch his son, "Bill, wait!" He called after him.

"No, I'm not going to wait. I will NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT! Not in my own home... by a boy who doesn't know anything about the world."

"At least hear me out, Bill." Lance pleaded. "His reaction isn't mine. It's not Meg's either."

Billy rounded on him. "HOW dare he... that ... that child! First he speaks to you like you're his pal, not an adult or the man of the house then he starts with that religious bullshit. Thanks for marrying into such a wonderfully tolerant family!"

"Billy!" Lance said. "Wait a minute!" He stepped in front of his son. "Look, I wish you'd been able to tell me differently." He took a deep breath and blew it out toward his eyes, "Hell, I wish Alex would have been able to let me know differently, I know how hard on you this must be. But I love you. I support you." He looked down and then smiled, "I guess I sort of suspected anyway."

Billy swallowed his last comment with an audible click as his mouth snapped shut.

"Oh really? What did you suspect?"

Lance looked back at his son, "You, Jason," Lance looked over at him, "The way he looks at you when he thinks you're not looking. The way you two turn to each other." He shook his head, "It was just a matter of time before one of you made the first move." He chuckled and checked his watch. "Frank, Marjorie and I have been expecting this for quite a while."

Billy slid to the ground. "Well I've just won the award for most unobservant idiot of the century. How could I have missed it all this time?

Lance smiled and sat down next to his son, "Because sometimes we don't see what's right in front of us." He shrugged and put an arm around his son, "Because sometimes we are fighting so hard to see ourselves worthy of love, we don't realize we have it until it comes up and bites us on the nose." He chuckled and leaned over so that he was forehead to forehead with his son. "Adam and Alex huh? Now THAT was one I didn't see coming."

"Neither did I." Billy said as he stared at the ground, and hoped he could get up. He wanted to run to Jason and apologize for never noticing the looks, the obvious affection and the way in which Jason had treated him.

"Look, why don't you go in and see how Alex is holding up?" He got up to help his son to his feet. "Tell him I want to talk to him about..., about this, and everything else. Tell him I want to apologize, and tell him I can guarantee Megan doesn't feel like Dante." He raised and eyebrow, "As for Dante, I think it's time my stepson and I had a little man to man talk."

"Help me up please" Billy couldn't bring himself to stand. "Then may I go to Jason's? I need to talk to him."

Lance helped him to his feet. "If you feel you must, but I'd rather you go talk to Alex first. I think he needs it more right now."

"I know, I meant after Alex and I talk," Billy explained. "I'll talk to Alex and catch up with Jason later..."

Lance smiled, "Sure, you might want to warn Kimberly what to expect. Although I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't already suspect something was up too." He grinned at his son. "I take it, you and Jason "talked" at the cabin last night?"

"Yes, we did" Billy blushed again as they walked back to the house... "It was wonderful and beautiful dad. I love him, and I'll never ignore him again."

"Good," Lance told his son. "It's going to be okay, Billy. I promise, it's going to be okay." He stopped and thought for a moment and then a rather wicked smile came across his face. "You know something funny?"

"What's possibly funny about this?"

"Dante wants to be on the football team at AGHS. To do that, he's got to deal with the captain of the team, and that's?..." he suggested to his son in a conspiratorial voice.

"Jason," Billy said as he grinned evilly. "I'm going to enjoy this dad; I'm really going to enjoy the look on his face...when he find out my boyfriend is the captain of the team."

"I thought that might cheer you up some," Lance said. "Besides, give Dante some time. He may surprise you. I know his mother didn't raise him to be a bigot; it's just that this all is as big a change for him as it is for you, more maybe. Remember, he's used to being the man of the house, and now I sort of step in and he's suddenly the youngest of three sons."


	13. Family for better or worse

Bleu Soliloqui

Chapter 13?

BleuWoulfe & Cobalt-Blue

Fair warning, Slash, A/U versions of some of our rangers. Rated R for language and angst.

Thanks to Cobalt Blue for the inspiration for continuing, and for contributing to this fic and to my growth as a writer. From chapter 12 and on, I'm naming him co-author… since we've collaborated so much on the last few chapters.

Meg waited quietly until Lance returned from outside where he was dealing with an understandably upset Billy. She couldn't believe what her son had said. She knew she'd raised him to be more open-minded than that. She was deeply disturbed by Dante's actions.

Lance looked up at his wife, sighed inwardly at the difficult task they now faced. "…well, want to be the bad cop or good cop?" he half-joked...

She gave him a wan smile and said, "I'm not a cop, I'm worse than a cop. I'm his mother..."

"Yeah, I think a cop may have more mercy on him right now. Do you want me to even go in? I don't think he'd listen to me"

She shook her head, "I think that maybe we need to do this as a couple. We dealt with Alex and Billy as a couple and we shouldn't set a precedent of only one of us dealing with a particular boy."

He smiled, and kissed her delicately. "I knew there was a reason I married you. Ladies first." Lance motioned to the stairs as he took an opportunity to observe his wife ascend the stairs. _'Bad Lance, now isn't the time_' he mentally chided himself, but stared at her anyway.

Climbing the staircase, Meg made her way down to Dante's room. With a single knock on the door, she entered without waiting to be asked to come in. "Dante, I think we need to talk about what you said downstairs." She turned and faced Lance, "All of us."

Lance nodded to Dante before sliding into a chair and leveled his gaze at the boy.

"Dante, I'm disappointed and hurt at what you said to Bill and Alex. Unless you missed it, you managed to piss off your step brother within an hour of meeting him."

Dante gave his mom a sheepish look and then turned to face Lance with only a mild sense of surprise. He shrugged, "So, it's not like I'm worried about makin' 'em mad. What are they going to do, redecorate my room?"

Lance eyed the boy... he curbed his tongue until that remark slipped out of Dante's mouth. "Billy is nearly a black belt and Alex is a Black Sash in Shaolin Kung fu. Not that they'd stoop to such barbarism, but I suggest you watch what you say to them. They've been through a lot and dealing with that kind of discrimination in their own home won't be tolerated."

Dante looked surprised, "A black belt?"

"Yes... in karate Dante. Billy is no limp wristed faggot and neither is Alex." Lance stopped, he was pissed again and he caught himself as he realized what he had said... maybe Dante needed to hear his bigotry reflected back at him.

Meg raised an eyebrow at her husband's use of profanity. "I don't think I would have put it quite that way Lance, but you have a point." She gave Dante a long look, "And you shouldn't have to be told that either."

"But ma, what will my boyz say? Especially once they find out I'm living with a couple of cocksu-" whatever else Dante was about to say was summarily ceased by a hard slap to the face.

"Dante! That is enough of that garbage! You will not use that term to refer to ANYBODY! Do you understand?" Her voice suddenly became low and threatening as she closed face to face with her son. "I don't know where this attitude is coming from son, but you had better lose it now." She growled at him, "I know I have taught you better than that." She stood and walked across the room her hands shaking, "And I don't care what the _boyz_," she raised the first and second finger of each hand to make quotation marks in the air," think about it." Then turning to face him, "You've only been here a week, how can you have boyz yet?"

Dante sat there stock-still. His mother had only been angered into slapping him a couple times before. "From LA, a couple of them moved close to here. I figured I wouldn't have any friends in the middle-of no-where-ville Angel Grove." He rubbed his face, and considered his course of action in order to leave his hide intact.

"Well, I don't know what kind of friends you've got here, but I can tell you this much. If they have problems with Billy and Alex being gay, they probably aren't the kind of friends you want to hang around here." She gave him a hard look, "And as far as this being the middle-of-nowhere-ville, you better get used to it. It's the kind of environment that I want you in, not running around with some half formed gang in LA."

Lance sat back and watched... getting in the middle of an old battle between mother and son was no place for a new stepfather to wander into. Dante grunted at his mother's words. "Dante, if I ever hear that noise out of you again I will smack the living shit out of you, especially when I am trying to get a point into that fool head of yours."

"Yes, ma'am," Dante replied looking carefully at his mother. He shook his head, "I still don' like it. It ain't natural. There's no tellin' what they're doin' in that room when they're by themselves!"

Lance stood up... he caught himself before he let his hand speak for him... His voice lowered to a dangerous timbre, and he stood in front of Dante with a murderous rage flickering in his eyes.

"Dante...you will NEVER intimate that my sons are involved in such deviant behavior. Them being gay isn't unnatural. You even suggesting that they are doing something as perverse as to be sleeping together is dangerous to your well being..."

Meg gave her husband a look of understanding. She had no idea what had gotten into her son. Wheeling on him she said, "Dante, let's get something perfectly clear." Her voice became low and even, "Billy and Alex are your step-brothers, and you will not refer to them in anything other than polite terms. You have to live with the situation." She walked over to him so that she was staring directly into his face, "What you suggested was beyond rude, it was downright disgusting and completely out of line. Do you understand me?"

Dante knew he had crossed a line with his mother and stepfather, since Lance Cranston couldn't be said to be an intimidating man... he was radiating menace and looked to be about a hair's breadth from throttling him. "Yes ma'am. Perfectly"

"Good," she told him. "Now I want to know where all this nonsense is coming from. This isn't like you; it's not the way I raised you."

Dante looked down at the floor, which had suddenly become fascinating. "You know from people."

"What people?" she demanded. "What people have you been talking to that put this kind of garbage in your head?"

Dante was cowed by his mother's anger. "Ya know, my boys, dad when I saw him... a couple of folks at school."

She took her son by the shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Well, you've been listening to the wrong people. For God's sake Dante, you're better than this. _I taught_ you better than this." Sighing she sat down on the bed and thought for a second, "Do you really believe those things you just said?" she asked in an almost desperate tone. "Have I really failed you that much?"

Lance touched her shoulder gently and let his hand rest there. He knew too well what it felt like to feel as if you'd failed your offspring.

"I... yeah I believe it ma. Why shouldn't I? If you're sick enough to lay with other men, then who---" Dante stopped at the murderous gleam in his mother's eyes and Lance's matching glare. "Yeah, I do and no one has proved me wrong yet."

"Dante, what do you mean sick, lay with other men...," she fought to control her voice. What kind of garbage had people been telling her son?

Dante looked up at his mother, steeled himself and spoke up. "Mah, it aint right. How are humans supposed to keep going if people keep choosing that life? I mean, at our age tell me it's not a choice ma? Why would you want to be with another man or another woman? I don't get it."

Lance finally spoke, rage in every clipped syllable. "Dante, do you think someone would choose a gay life? People like you and others who would harm them for merely existing should deter anyone from the choice of a gay life. I will not have you slander my sons, not to mention your stepbrothers because of your narrow views. I don't know who has fed you such idiocy, but you are the bigger fool for swallowing it hook line and sinker. If you stopped and thought about it... are either of them wearing makeup, prancing around like girls? No! I suggest you step back and think before you speak Dante. There's an old African proverb that says a chatterer will always lead the dogs to meat. Think of what you could do if you spread your hate to others."

Meg took a deep breath, "Tell me something Dante? When did you choose to be straight? At what point in your life did you decide that you liked girls? At what point in your life did you decide to have brown eyes? At what point in your life did you decide to be Black?"

"I didn't mom. You act like I had a choice in my race, eye color or the fact that I'm normal and like girls."

"And you act like they have a choice in who they love," she told him. "I've got news for you son, most of the research I've seen on the subject says that sexuality is genetic."

Dante looked at his mother... had she just said being a fag was genetic. "How, neither you or Pop is gay."

Meg made to reply, but Lance cut her off, "Most of what I've read suggests that it's not a single gene but a combination of genes. My sons are what they are because that's the way nature, the way GOD made them, Dante. And I love and support them no matter who they love." He gave the boy a hard look, "But I want to point something out to you. Be careful about assumptions about who is and who isn't gay."

He sighed and went over to the window, "I've watched Billy and his boyfriend slowly fall in love for the past several years, and there is no way anyone can convince me it is anything but natural, and beautiful."

Dante sighed. He knew he wouldn't win this fight, not today at any rate. "Fine, if I agree to be nice will that be enough for now? I have to think about that Lance and it will be a long time before I'm comfortable with them, if ever."

"Dante, I know this is a big adjustment," Meg told him. "It is for all of us. You've been yanked out of your old neighborhood and friends, and put in a new school with a new family. Lance and I are still feeling around the edges of what it's going to be like as a family. Alex and Billy have had several major disruptions in their lives lately and they just did one of the hardest things in the world a gay child can do. They came out to their family." She chuckled, "Even I'm having to adjust." She shook her head and smiled, "I'm the only woman in a house of four men. I'll be lucky if that toilet seat is EVER left down."

Dante smiled at that, glad that some of the tension had gone out of the room. "Let me try ma, just let me try to understand."

"What is it you don't understand, Dante?" Lance asked as he sat down in the large overstuffed chair. "We want to help you, but you've got to meet us half way. What is the real reason for all this anger?

Dante shook his head. How could he explain this to a stranger, a man he barely knew? A man, who'd suddenly invaded his life, not took away his life, and his mother. He was out of his league here and he knew it. After his dad left, he'd gotten used to growing up in some of the rougher neighborhoods in LA. His mother wasn't poor by a long shot, but she was only one person, and that meant that he didn't live in the best of areas, or went to the better schools. Now he was in a rich kids' house, in a rich neighborhood, and would be going to a rich kids school. He was out of his element and didn't like it. He looked at Lance and asked, "Why couldn't YOU have moved to LA? Why did we have to come here to monster central where everybody's going to be looking down their noses at me?"

Lance tipped his head curiously at Dante. He blinked then slowly understood what Dante was getting at. "No one here is a snob Dante. No one is going to look down his or her nose at you as you put it. You and your mother lived in an apartment, and I already had a house. Logically it made sense Dante. Would you feel better, like you were in charge if the situation were reversed? Do you think this was done to spite you? News flash Dante, this isn't all about you, your mother or dropping you in the middle of an ocean with no life preserver. Its what made sense and no matter how you twist it, no one here is out to get you or ruin your life."

Dante shook his head, "I'm not trying to twist anything. I know I'm not going to fit in, so why try? Billy has his friends, Alex has been here less than two weeks and he already has a... uh whatever this Adam is... All I got is one guy I used to run with a few years ago in LA, and he acts like he's too good to run with me now."

"Then maybe you should try to meet new friends Dante. Billy's friends are very accepting, even with someone as charming as you. Now I suggest you get your act together. If you don't try, you've failed before you've begun. I will not accept this attitude from you, nor will I accept this defeatist attitude when you haven't even tried to understand anything. Tomorrow, at least try to meet them half way, that's all I'm asking... and I know it's more than I have a right to ask."

Meg shook her head, "No it's not more than you have a right to ask. It's what he has to do. No son of mine is going to be a quitter," she told both of them. "So you have to move; big deal. You're in a safer neighborhood, at a safer school that offers you more opportunities. So quit acting like a little girl and start acting like the man you always say you are."

Dante rolled his eyes and waited for the smack to come. "Fine mom, I'll be a good little boy since that's all you want now that you've gotten what you wanted: A house in the burbs, 2.5 kids and a white picket fence. If I may be excused, I think I'm all talked out."

"No you may not be excused!" Meg said. "I don't know what has come over you, but you will NOT speak to me like that!" Meg felt her fury rising. "There is no excuse for you to act like that, Dante and I'm not going to put up with it." She gave him a long hard look, "I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it."

That finally cowed her child. Dante shrank back and nodded, as he finally listened to the voice in his head had been telling him to shut up for about 20 minutes now. He blinked slowly as he waited for his mother to obliterate his existence. The lines had been crossed and there would be hell to pay.

"It's time you grew up, Dante. You are not the only person in this world, in this country, in this state, or even in this house. You are my son, and are the most important thing in my life, but I'll be damned if you're going to sully the happiness Lance and I have because you're too selfish to deal with reality." She took his chin in her hand and turned his face to hers, "This is the reality Dante: I love Lance, I married him and he and his sons are part of OUR family. Grow up and stop acting like my getting married was just to spite you!"

Dante wisely swallowed his retort and answered like he had a modicum of common sense. "Yes ma'am. I'm sorry for my behavior today. I'll work on my attitude and work on being friends with Billy and Alex."

She let go of his face, and stood up, "If I thought for a second that you didn't mean it, Dante..." she warned. Then she turned on her heel, "Good, Now supper will be ready in about two hours. I want you to thing about what we've discussed."

"Yes'm"

Lance stood in the doorway of hallway and he looked at Dante, since he didn't believe one word the boy had uttered in the last minute. "I'll send Billy up to get you, that way you can make good on your promises."

Dante watched his mother and step-dad leave the room as he sat there quietly and thought about what had been said. This was going to be difficult, but he realized he'd better a least appear to make allowances. When Billy came for him, he'd definitely be at least polite.

Dinner that evening was a quiet but somewhat tense affair with Dante on his best behavior and Alex and Billy dancing carefully around each other, trying to decide how to best to deal with their recent "outing". By the time it was over, they'd all turned in early to avoid any further conflict.

Kim looked around the park as she and Tommy walked along the path. She'd been really pissed off at him but was willing to listen to what he had to say. Finally he looked over at her and said softly, "I'm really sorry for the way I acted Kim," he said softly.

"Well, you should be," she told him crossing her arms. "You've been acting weird lately, Tommy. I mean saying Billy disrespected you? What do you think the Rangers are some kind of gang?"

"Um.. no, what makes you say that?"

"Because gangs worry about being disrespected. Friends worry about how to help each other. You've never acted like this before. Because it seems like you're more worried about what people might think about you than the idea of Billy finally coming out of his shell."

"But… his double hurt me.. i mean my double. He was acting like he was in charge...' Tommy stopped his rant mid sentence. He realized how dumb he sounded  
"It was HIS double, not HIM," she told him. "Plus he was trying to find a way to help another Ranger Team keep the Machine Empire from taking over their world. He was putting personal doubts aside to do what needed to be done. Me, nor you were giving us any options. He was in charge because you decided not to be."

"Nothing I can say Kim. Besides I'm sorry, i was acting like a child not a leader and I let the fact that he was wearing Green get to me. Think he'd take an apology?  
Kim smiled at him, "I know you are sorry, Tommy. It's just that sometimes I think you get caught up in the whole testosterone thing with Jason that sometimes you forget that not all guys play that game." She chuckled and reached out and touched his hand gently,

"I think he might take an apology, if it's heart felt, and if you give him a little time to settle things with his Dad, his brother, Adam, Aisha, and Jason."

"Good, I'll apologize to William although I doubt he'd believe me...the important thing to me is, do you forgive me Kim"  
She looked over at him, "Do you mean it? I mean do you mean that you're sorry? Do you really want to make things right with Billy?" she asked.

"Yes. I've never been more sorry in my life."

She grinned up at him, bounced once and kissed him on the cheek, "Then of course I forgive you. I could never stay mad at you."

"Could have fooled me. I thought you were going to tear me to pieces the other day."

"I was the other day. But Billy and I had a talk. He convinced me to give you another chance." She grinned up at him and added, "He did tell me though that if you kept up the gang talk, and took it too far that I should hand you your manhood."

Tommy blanched at that and winced inwardly. "Why do I have the feeling that Billy isn't someone I should mess with or have pissed off at me?"

"Because he's not," she grinned at him, "And I'm not." She kissed him again and took his arm in hers as she sat down beside him. "However, I think you really need to talk to him."

"I know. I've been unfair and mean to him in word and deed. I'll talk to him tomorrow if he's around. If not, I'll catch up with him at school."

"That's good. He likes you Tommy. He thinks of you as a good friend, he's just going through rough patch right now."

"I know. I let that Alpha male part of me take over... I forget his spirit animal is a wolf. 'Cunning and swift Dulcea said.'

"And loyal too."

"Yes, and loyal. I don't want him coming after me if we argue again do I?"  
She shook her head, "No you don't." Sighing she guided him toward the path they usually walked to talk. "But I don't think that's going to be a problem."

"So when do you want to talk to him?" Kim asked as she looked out over the park.

"How about later this morning at the Youth Center? Around ten-thirty?" she suggested.

Tommy smiled, "I'll be there."

"Thanks for coming Billy," Kim told her friend. She'd seen her genius friend down before and she'd seen him overworked. However, she'd never seen him hit this hard with both. To be honest, he looked like Hell on a Hotplate. She smiled over at him, "Thanks for coming over Billy," she told him.

He glanced up at her with a smile, "No problem Kim. I needed to get out of the house anyway."

"Things still rough with your family situation?" she asked putting a comforting hand on his.

He nodded, "Yeah, it seems like as soon as I manage to reconcile one altercation, another appears."

Before she could reply, Tommy came up and nodded to both of them with a sheepish smile, and then nodding to both of them he sat down with three smoothies, "Peace?"

Looking at each other, they both shook their heads, "I think this calls for chocolate?" Billy said. "What do you think?"

"Definitely chocolate?" Kim replied.

"Chocolate it is, a mere smoothie won't cut it."

"Godiva?" she suggested.

"No, Dove. Godiva's more expensive, but Dove is better," he smiled.

"As you wish my friend. Dove it is," Tommy acknowledged before becoming serious. "Look guys, I'm sorry. I was way outta' line." He then nodded to Ernie who brought over three double-dipped chocolate sundaes. With a smile he added, "Consider this a down payment." With a smile he began, "Look, I was upset about William and crew. I know it's no excuse, but I've sort been having a rough patch at home and I guess I'm on edge right now."

Billy arched and eyebrow at the rough patch at home quip. "As am I Tom. You need to know I'm not going to be pushed around or bullied because you're having a bad day."

"I know, Bro. I'm sorry about that." Tommy looked down guiltily. "It's just that there's this guy moving in town who I used to run with in LA. Before the Mom and Dad adopted me. He's giving me a hard time about trying to hang around, and I really don't feel like dealing with his shit."

"I can understand...," Billy said. "Dante is turning out to be a real bastard. He's managed to piss me off, and just about everyone else with is attitude. Seems like he's really mad about our parents getting together. He's even more pissed that I'll still have my lab once we move"

"Dante? Dante Fitzpatrick?" Tommy asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Billy replied, "Know him?"

Tommy banged his head on the table. Billy and Kim were unsure if he was laughing or crying. "Yeah Bro, I know him."

"Um, Tom...what's the deal with this guy? Seems like you're about to break into hysterics?" Billy asked.

Tommy looked up at his girlfriend and his friend, "He's the guy I used to run with in LA."

Billy nearly choked on his sundae when Tommy said that. "Wha?" sounding inarticulate at the news of such things was starting to become a bad habit with Billy. "You're kidding? Please tell me your kidding."

"How do you know him Bro?

"He's my step brother."

"Your step-brother!" Tommy exclaimed in surprise. Then something seemed to hit him and he blushed deeply. Finally leaning back in his chair he says, "Boy are we a fucked up bunch or what?"

"Tommy!" Ernie said from nearby. "Watch your language."

"Sorry Ernie"

"Its ok, you beat me to it."

Tommy grinned, "So the guy's who's been giving me so much shit about running around at two in the morning, is your new step bro?" He shakes his head. "This is going to cause major problems for the Rangers before it's over I bet."

"In what way?" Billy asked curious about the blush that Tommy managed to will away.

"He's irritating, loud and a dumb jock for lack of a better word?"

"He's NOT going to let up, guys." Tommy said. "He's basically a good guy I guess, but he's had a lot of the wrong influences."

Kim smiled over at him and patted his hand, "Kind of like someone else we know?" She grinned at him, "He seems to be doing a good job of turning around his life." She winked over at Billy, "After we convinced him to stop hanging around with evil sorceresses trying to take over the world."

"He'll let up Tommy, one way or the other." Billy said darkly as he leveled his gaze at Tommy.

"True... wonder how much convincing Dante will take to stop being an asshole?"

"Billy! Lanuguage!" Ernie shouted.

"Sorry Ernie," Billy blushed.

Shaking his head, Ernie grinned and mumbled to himself, "Twice in one day. Must be something major messing with them right now."

Billy shook his head and looked over at Tommy, "Look Tom, I'm sorry I've been short with you." He grinned at the thin teen, "I realize you've had it rough, but I'm not going to be pushed around. Not by Bulk and Skull, not by Dante, and not even by you, oh fearless leader." He smiled down, "I get the feeling that from here on out, school is going to be even rougher for me than it has been in the past, so I'd appreciate a little slack."

"What do you mean? How could school get rough for you, the resident genius of Angel Grove High."

"Because of me," Jason's voice suddenly cut through their whispers as he sat down between Billy and Kim. He reached out and put his hand atop Billy's and said to Tommy, "We need to talk Bro."

Tommy looked at their hands, which fit so perfectly together. While Tommy wasn't a genius it didn't take rocket science to figure out what Jason could be talking about.

"There's nothing to discuss, anyone gives you two a hard time... I'm sure you'll handle it."

Looking over at her two best friends and then at her boyfriend, Kim asked carefully, "Does that include you?"

Tommy blushed, yes that includes me. I know I've been an idiot a grade A insufferable S.O.B. lately. So you have carte blanche to kick my tail into next week if I do that again. Deal?"

Jason smiled and leaned back, "Deal bro."

Tommy grinned, "You know, when you told me there was this blond you had your eye on, I should have realized it wasn't that biker chick."

Billy looked up with a smirk. "I didn't know you were the leather type Jase," Billy teased.

"I'm not!" Jason said.

"So, what are you going to do about your step brother?" Kim asked.

Bily sighed..."Besides kick his ass to make him stop being a wanker...try to talk to him. See if I can get past his shell?"

"You need to stop watching so much Brit TV Bill, it's rubbing off on you. Why don't you try talking to him and see what happens? After all. you, him and Alex are stuck in the same house till at least you two go off to college," Kim said.

"Eh, blame it on Harry Potter. I started reading the books again. That and watching too much Monty Python is to blame, as long as I don't affect a Surrey accent we're fine. I'll try talking to Dante, but he's a tough nut to crack, kind of like ... me." He smiled, "As for talking; I'm trying, I'm trying," he said. "It's just difficult having a conversation with someone who refuses to stay in the same room with you and mumbles slurs under his breath."

"What kind of slurs bro?"

"You know what kind, fag, faerie, queer..."

All three Rangers looked shocked at his words... "But, how would he know? Did you tell your dad already?"

Billy blushed, "It kinda slipped out," he said. "Megan, my step mom wanted to meet mine and Alex's girlfriends. Alex grumbled we don't have girlfriends, we have boyfriends, and then all hell broke loose."

"I can imagine..."

Bill smiled, "The look on her face was priceless though. The look on Dante's face however killed any humor I had about the situation immediately. He called us fucking fags, and his mother promptly slapped him. That look was a Kodak moment."

"How'd your dad take it?" Kim asked the question she knew Jason wanted to ask. She knew he was afraid that Mr. Cranston might try to separate them.

"He asked who they were," Billy replied.

"What did you tell him?" Tommy asked.

"I told him I was seeing Jason."

"What did he say then?" Kim asked.

He just grinned and said, "At least it's someone I know who'll be good to you." Billy blushed deeply as he looked over at Jase.

Jase smiled warmly and squeezed Billy's hand.

"What about Alex? Did he fess up?" Tommy asked as he took a chance and reached for Kim's hands to hold them.

Billy nodded, "The real problem is the sleeping arrangements at the house." He sighed, "We've only got one guest bedroom. Dante gets that one but he keeps complaining that...," Billy blushed deeply, "... he keeps intimating that Alex and my relationship might not be entirely appropriate for siblings." Then looking over at Tommy he said, "You better believe it. There was no way he was going to get away with outing me and not himself."

"Don't tell me he's trying to say you two... are ... that's .. gross. You're brothers!"

Billy nodded, "Yeah, he got it from his mom again over it. Still, it bothers me. I'll be glad when Dad closes on the other house."

"Of course THAT'S another source of irritation."

Tommy rolled his eyes... "Typical Dante. What he didn't get the biggest room in the house so now he's mad?"

"No, I'll still have my lab; matter of fact the new house is huge. We shouldn't have to cross paths except for meals and maybe school. Then again he's younger than us... so we'll be out of high school before him"

He's upset because you get to keep your lab?" Kim asked in shock, "What's his problem with your lab?" Then she leaned forward, "You're not moving out of Angel Grove are you?"

"No, actually Dad got lucky. The house 8 blocks south of us was on Crawford Street. It's much bigger, more modern and best of all a pool. I'm not leaving Angel Grove for a while." Billy said.

"Good," Jason said. "I don't want to lose you."

Billy smiled back, "I don't want to be lost either." All three smiled and leaned back letting the tension of their arguments wash away. Kim sighed content to be surrounded by three of the most important men in her life.


	14. Blowup

Bleu Soliloqui

Chapter 14?

BleuWoulfe & Cobalt-Blue

Fair warning, Slash, A/U versions of some of our rangers. Rated R for language and angst.

Thanks to Cobalt Blue for the inspiration for continuing, and for contributing to this fic and to my growth as a writer. I'm naming him co-author… since we've collaborated so much on the last few chapters.

It was one of those fall day's for which California was famous, cool, clear, and beautiful, almost in exact opposition to Aisha's mood as she walked toward class alone.

"Hey 'Ish, wait up!" Adam called from behind her.

She turned around and gave a wan smile. "Sure Ad, what's up?"

Adam shrugged as fell in beside his best friend, putting a tentative hand on her arm. "Just haven't spent time with the better-looking member of the Stone Canyon Ninjas lately. She seems to be walking around with a cloud over her lately."

Aisha laughed bitterly. "Well that cloud seems to be there for the duration. It's not like I can make anyone like me."

"Look, I like you girl," he said. Then he leaned in closely and whispered, "And I know a certain member of a huge family clan that likes you too," he told her. Then almost under his breath, he added, "a lot."

Aisha smiled again, this time with more warmth. "Don't kid, my hearts a little too fragile now for jokes."

"Who's joking?" he said. "We've been best friends for years, so you know I wouldn't kid about that." He stopped and took her by the arm to get her to halt as well. Looking her in the eyes, he added, "Look, I'm not kidding. Rocky would kill me if I said anything, but he's ready to kick Alex's and Billy's ass right now."

She looked at Adam in shock for a second then recovered her calm facade. "Oh and why would he want to do that? It's not like they did anything to him."

Adam sighed and looked at Aisha. He chose his next words very carefully, "Because they hurt someone he cares about." He added quietly, "And turned down something he wants but is afraid to ask for."

Aisha thought carefully before she caught Adam's veiled meaning. "Oh... oh Adam, are you sure?"

Adam looked over at her, swallowed, and then nodded to her solemnly, "I wasn't supposed to say anything..."

"It's ok... I'm glad you did. I don't want Rocky trying to beat up anyone because I was too caught up in my own little world to notice him." Aisha picked up the pace so she could catch Rocky before their first class.

Adam jogged to catch up with his friend who now seemed like a woman on a mission. As they rounded the corner toward AGHS suddenly the air was split with a familiar six tone tune.

Adam looked around to make sure nobody was looking and then answered, "What's up Zordon?"

The ancient sorcerer's voice came over the wrist link, "Rangers, Zed and Rita have sent down their latest monster, Pottymouth. Please teleport to the Command Center immediately."

"We're on our way." Aisha ground out, letting her irritation show at being called into battle so early in the day, especially when she had a certain Red Ranger to straighten out.

Arriving at the Command Center in streaks of black and yellow light, Adam realized that they were the last Rangers to arrive. Looking around, the others were already facing the viewing globe. A creature with a head like a toilet was terrorizing the park.

Zordon gave them information on the monster currently attacking the city. "THIS IS POTTYMOUTH, A CREATURE WHO HAS THE ABILITY TO GARBLE THE SPEECH OF ANYBODY AROUND HIM , FORCING THEM TO USE SHOCKINGLY OBJECTIONABLE LANGUAGE"

Billy looked up at the screen and checked his readings... "Any discernible weaknesses detected Alpha?"

"None yet," the small robot said in his tinny voice.

"I'm still working on it."

Jason looked over at William and the other alternate universe rangers and then back up to Zordon, "What can we do to help Zordon?"

"Join in, the Rangers can probably use all of the help they can get with this monster"

A broad smile broke on the former Ranger leader's face at the obvious thought of a chance to go back into battle, "Got it Zordon."

"BE PARTICULARLY CAREFUL OF HIS PLUNGER," Zordon said. "IT FIRES A POWERFUL BEAM OF VACUUM PRESSURE THAT IS CAPABLE OF DAMAGING YOU EVEN THROUGH YOUR UNIFORMS."

Billy smiled at the grin Jason failed to contain. "Gee Jase, I guess you missed the spandex a lot huh?" Billy winked at Jason, shocking the assembled crowd of Rangers... and further angering Rocky.

"Noted Zordon." William looked at his Jason and Rocky. "Ready to do this guys?"

"Never been more ready in my life." Rocky answered, while Jase gave his commander and lover a nod and a smile. William looked over at Tommy and growled under his breath….

"Ready to go when you are, Thomas."

Tommy looked at the other Rangers, stepped forward, placing his hand behind his back to rest on his morpher and said, "Let's to it." A half beat later; he said "It's morphin' time!"

Several seconds later, nine forms landed in Angel Grove Park where Pottymouth was running amok, as little kids ran away screaming obscenities.

"What did those kids say?" William asked in mild shock as they looked up to see a huge Potty terrorizing Angel Grove.

"I believe it was on the order of fuck, damn, oh hell, god dammit... etc." Billy said as he landed near William after he finished morphing.

"I'm not repeating it," Rocky said. "My mamma would wash out my mouth with soap."

"So would mine, just for hearing it Rocko. So fearless leader, what's the plan?" Aisha asked while observing the mayhem in front of them.

Tommy looked around at the situation, "William, you and your crew get the kids out of here, we'll handle this...," before he could finish was hit by a beam from the great toilet headed creature. "... Shit-for-brains fuck-faced turd."

William smirked as the great Falcon was reduced to language he used daily... "Sure thing, oh great leader." William snagged his Jason and Rocky, and then went off to get the kids out of harm's way.

Billy grinned inside his helmet, he couldn't help it... hearing Tommy use such vulgar language was amusing, even in the midst of battle. "Well, I guess that's his power; making anyone cuss up a blue streak."

Tommy shot Billy a dark look under his mask, "Suck me, queer," he found himself saying.

"Fuck you asshole" Billy shot back without being under the influence of the beam. He growled as he rolled away from a beam aimed at him while he traded barbs with Tommy. "Well what's your great plan?"

Tommy looked over at the rest of his team, blushing heavily under his mask at his shame of not having enough control of his own choice of words. Finally, giving up in frustration, he gave his orders, determined to deal with the consequences later. "Rip this mother fucking shit-hole apart!" he told them.

Jason looked back to where William and crew were escorting the last of the children out of the area, convinced that their ears were blistering from the epitaphs coming from the tot's mouths.

William was actually enjoying the shame that Tommy was suffering as his mouth refused to cooperate with his brain via their helmet comm's. "Say, Tommy you ok over there? Seems like you have a problem controlling your tongue. And the kids are safe now... may I suggest we destroy this thing?"

Billy shook his head... one day hopefully William would learn to let things go. "Stop baiting him Will. You know he can't help it. The monster got him with its beam."

"You're one to talk. He'd be sucking his own cock if he'd said that to me. Lack of control my ass; he's probably been itching to say that to you all day."

Knowing that any reply would be twisted by the spell he was under, Tommy refused to give any comment voice. Instead, he just nodded to Jason and the two tore into the monster as Adam, Rocky, Aisha, and Billy worked their way around to flank it.

William, Jase and Rocky joined the ranks and completed the circle surrounding Potty mouth. "So Billy, care to join me in some therapeutic destruction?" William asked with such joy in his voice it chilled Billy and the other's who heard him via their comm units.

As if sensing the approach of the other Rangers, Pottymouth suddenly backhanded both Jason and Tommy into a nearby tree with a single powerful blow from the plunger he was carrying and spun to face Billy and Kim coming up on him from behind. Leveling a concentrated field of negative air pressure at them, he forced the Blue and Pink Rangers to abort their attack and dive to the side.

Distracted by Kim and Billy, Pottymouth never saw the attack launched at him from either side as Rocky and Adam went up and over to land a dual kick to opposite sides of the "tank" on his head.

Jason and William followed their act with spinning kicks to the "bowl" that made up his torso and slid to a stop as they looked for their "Rocky" to follow suit.

Turning to see where their "Rocky" was closing, having been distracted by the child he was helping, was a critical mistake. "Rocky" looked on in horror, as behind them, Pottymouth was leveling a point blank blast at his leader's back. All William and "Jason" saw was their young protégé suddenly launch himself toward them, knocking them past the path of the blast. "Jason" was stunned as "Rocky" took the monster's attack full in the chest. For a moment his body seemed to vibrate, then their medic, their friend, and their confidant suddenly exploded outward, as the pressure in his body and suit overcame the negative pressure surrounding him.'

It took both William and Jason all of two seconds before their shock turned to grief and rage... William let out a howl that made the other's cringe as he and Jason charged Potty mouth full tilt with rage lending them strength. William pounded on Potty Mouth with an inhuman level of strength as he kept replaying Rocky's gory demise over in his head...

Billy finally moved once he was able to overcome the psychic backlash from William's grief and joined his doppelganger in tearing the monster to pieces, nearly bare-handed.

Tommy felt a deep rage well up from inside him. He may have had his problems with William, but this was like seeing his own Rocky so brutally murdered. For a brief moment, he felt the same anger and rage that controlled him under Rita's spell come to forefront of his mind. He went on automatic, as he too closed with Pottymouth.

It was a short fight. Four enraged Rangers versus a single monster. It was literally torn apart until only the oversized pair of Brogan work boots were left where it was standing, smoke pouring from their tops.

William sunk down to his knees unable to do anything but scream out his grief. Billy

de-morphed, removed his helmet, and promptly lost his lunch before he too sunk down to the ground near William. It was too much for them to bear. They always knew death was a real option; but to see one of their own die so horrifically was too much.

Billy put his head in his hands, and started sobbing... he was already an emotional wreck from what was going on. He knew that they got hurt doing this... but he didn't think that he'd ever see one of them killed. Not like that, not less than 20 feet away from him.

"We need to get this back to the Command Center, " Tommy said gently to the others, as the spell on him was broken.

Neither Billy nor William responded they merely helped each other up and teleported back with Jason right behind them. "Jason" tried to comfort William, but he'd have none of it. He went to the med bay to be with what little of "Rocky" they were able to recover.

Jason nodded to Tommy and gently put a hand on Billy's shoulder. "C'mon Bill. Let's go."

Billy turned to Jason and nodded solemnly. He didn't have a voice for what had happened; he couldn't speak even if he wanted to. He followed Jason, to allow William and "Jason" to grieve in private. The last thing he heard was the anguished keening that William had resumed upon seeing Rocky's remains.

Aisha looked to their Rocky and flung herself into his arms... "I'm sorry Rocky. I'm so sorry." She said as she clung to him... realizing she was lucky to still have him there. Despite her misgivings about the other Rangers, she'd never wish that kind of death on her worst enemies.

Noticing the distress on Billy's face, Jason asked gently, "You're picking up from William, aren't you?" He got a tired nod by way of an answer, and had his hands full with keeping Billy upright. William had passed out after trying to make sure Rocky was given proper rites and such. He couldn't do it... and since Billy was linked to him, he too slid to the floor unconscious.

Billy opened his eyes just as Jason was lowering him to the floor. "William, he's passed out, he... I... it's so horrible Jase." Billy turned on his side and closed his eyes. He couldn't help seeing what William did, and if he'd had anything left to throw up he would have.

"I don't understand," Jason said.

"What don't you understand?" Billy didn't have the strength for lengthy inquiries. He was doing good to be conscious himself

Sensing his lover's distress, Jason shook his head, "I don't have to understand right now. If you need anything I'm here."

"Can you check on them? Then please help me to get home, I don't think I can explain why I'm like this without giving ourselves away. I'm too shell-shocked."

Jason nodded and gently squeezed Billy's shoulder, "I'll be right back."

Half way there, Tommy stopped him, "How's Billy?"

Jason looked back over his shoulder, "He's pretty out of it." Looking past Tommy he said, "I'm going to check on William and Jase, and them I'm going to take him home."

"Is that a good idea?" Seeing the look of irritation on Jason's face he quickly added, "I mean with all the stress at his house." He shrugged, "Look, why don't you take him to your place."

"Maybe. I don't want to cause him any trouble at home by not having him come home. I'll call his dad and see if he can stay over tonight."

Tommy nodded, "Take care of him, pal."

"For the rest of our lives." Jason continued to the med bay room where "Jason" had placed his beloved. He sat, and held William's hands and let his head rest on William's chest. "He's in shock; I don't know how he's going to be when he wakes up. We were ready to leave for San Diego, to start our lives here... all three of us. Rocky didn't deserve that, he gave up his life for us; I don't know if I can forgive myself."

Jason looked at his counterpart, "I don't know what to tell you, except this. What happened isn't your fault. It's the monster's fault. It's Rita's and Zed's fault, but it's not your fault."

"Jason" shrugged non-committally. For the moment he only would listen. His double wouldn't understand what he felt... at the moment he felt like destroying something, someone like killing that creature a thousand times over for each heartbeat it took for Rocky to die in front of them. "It's how I feel now Jason. Logically, I know you're right... but now I'm feeling not thinking. Try telling William that when he comes to... I'll guarantee he won't agree, at least until we've taken care of Rocky."

Jason nodded, "Oddly enough, I understand. I know it'll take you a while for your head to convince your heart, but you will." He laid a gentle hand on his counter-part's shoulder and said, "If you need to talk. If you need anything, let me know. I'm here for you." He looked over at William, "For both of you."

"Thank you. I'll take care of him; you take care of your wolf... he needs you. We'd like to give Rocky a funeral... send him home to the Goddess he served. She'd want him back, and we don't want his spirit to wander aimlessly for long."

Jason nodded, "I don't entirely understand, but I don't have to. Just do what you need to; the Rangers'll make sure you get what you need." He turned to leave the room. "If you'll excuse me."

"Of course. I'll ask Zordon to call you once we are ready to send him off." Jason put his head down and felt his beloved's heart beat beneath his lips. He wanted nothing more than to scream his grief out, but he decided to wait, at least until William was awake again. He also silently thanked every single God and Goddess he knew that they were still alive.


	15. Maybe we will be ok after all

Bleu Soliloqui

Chapter 15?

BleuWoulfe & Cobalt-Blue

Fair warning, Slash, A/U versions of some of our rangers. Rated R for language and angst.

Thanks to Cobalt Blue for the inspiration for continuing, and for contributing to this fic and to my growth as a writer. I'm naming him co-author… since we've collaborated so much on the last few chapters.

"You know, if your mom had heard you in that battle, Rocky wouldn't be the only one getting his mouth washed out with soap."

"I know Kim, I know. I feel so bad for what I said to Billy. I thought he was going to slap me for a second."

Kim smiled up at her boyfriend, "I think Billy understood that you were under the influence of that creature. I think he may be coming out of his shell a bit though."

"I do too... I just hope he deals with everything in his own time and not let anyone rush him. I need to talk to him once he's up to it. I've been a real asshole to him."

Putting her arm through his, she quietly walked beside him for long moments. "I know. I'm worried that the whole mess going on with his dad is going to blow up in all our faces. You said that his step brother was chasing after you. What did he want? I mean what kind of hanging," she made little quotation marks with her free hand, " did he want to do?"

Tommy glanced at the ground before answering..."He wanted to get the old gang back together... and I wasn't interested in i."

Kim nodded, "How are you going to deal with him and Billy being stepbrothers? I mean you still have to work with Billy."

"I know... it didn't seem like he was too thrilled with the idea himself. I won't mistreat Billy for Dante. He can kiss my ass if he thinks I'll toss away my friendships and the life I have now."

Kim looked up at him, "Good, because Billy's important to me too." She blushed a moment, "And he's important to Jason- very important, if you know what I mean."

"I gathered that from the way Jason looked at Billy before we went into battle." Tommy said as he gave Kim a wry smile.

"You should have seen the way they looked at each other last week at the cabin." Kim felt herself blushing at the scene of two of her oldest friends locked in that impassioned scene she'd witnessed.

Tommy quirked an eyebrow at Kim's statement... "What exactly happened at the cabin?"

Kim pulled her arm out of Tommy's and walked beside him quietly for a few moments.

"Let's just say, I teleported in unannounced when I should have announced myself." She shook her head and smiled as she looked at Tommy, "You know when you said that Jason can take it like a man?" She waited for his nod, "Well, you're right. He CAN take it like a man."

Tommy stopped mid stride... "Kim! I didn't need to know all that." Tommy pulled a face somewhere between amused, shocked and galled.

Kim smiled to herself at Tommy's reaction. It was exactly what she'd expected, and what she was trying elicit. Looking down demurely, she simply said, "Sorry."

"I hope you told them that. I can't see Billy being ok with you catching them like that. As private as he can be sometimes..." Tommy walked a little further in silence... then asked her something he was itching to find out.

"I did."

Since Billy was firmly ensconced in his private world of Jason Scott, Tommy wanted to know if Kim had ever liked Billy or carried some kind of torch for her best male friend.

Tommy nodded at her admission of apology, but he wanted to know what, if anything had happened between her and Billy. Or if things had remained platonic all the time.

He walked slowly, not sure how to breach the subject without causing Kim to go ballistic again. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait too long for her to wonder what was making him wander so slowly with her down their usual path.

"Tommy, what's wrong? You seem like your itching to ask me something but you haven't. Go on, ask me." Kim looked up at him earnestly, and awaited his question.

Tommy took a deep breath and decided to spit it out. "I…. I um wanted to know if there was ever anything between you and Billy, like more than friends kind of anything." Tommy said in one rushed sentence and cringed inwardly, he figured Kim would be outraged that he even asked such a thing. Instead she smiled and reached up and kissed him before answering.

"No, nothing ever happened between us except switching bodies once due to a scientific experiment that got out of control. I love him, but not like that Tommy. Relax, he's not a threat to you like that… and Jason would have anyone's head who dared to make a move on Billy." Kim looped her arm in Tommy's and pulled him along their usual route. Tommy grinned as he picked up the pace, and took Kim's hand to lead them.

"I know, I realized that when Jase took him out of the Command Centre the other day. I feel bad for anyone who ever tries to tear them apart. I'm glad their happy together, honestly I am. I'm done being Mafioso Tommy, I'm sure all of you are glad of it." Tommy said in a self depreciating tone while they walked further along the path into the park.

While they caught up on missed time, Billy was at Jason's place again, watching him work out and thinking on how he could help William and the other Jason in their new lives. From what he'd gleaned from his conversations with William, they had jobs and a place together in San Diego, and were coping, not doing very well but coping. He looked up to see Jason toweling off after a grueling work out and coming towards him. Jason had been pushing himself too hard lately, especially since the other Rocky's demise.

"Jase, why have you been so intense lately? I've noticed you've been pushing yourself really hard during your work outs and it's not like you've got anything to prove to anyone, and its not like you need to reach some goal.

Please, Jase tell me what's bothering you? Turnabout is fair play; after all you're always after me to tell people what's bothering me. So, spill it Scott." Billy gave him a stern look from his perch on the floor and waited for an answer.

Jason sighed and tossed down the towel before he folded himself Indian style in front of Billy and took his hands. He didn't know what was pushing him so hard lately, not on the surface. He knew it had to do with their loss and his fear of losing Billy to the same fate as the other Rocky. His emotions were playing havoc with his head, and he let his heart speak for him when he finally opened up.

"I guess its seeing Rocky die made it real for me, to know that we can die doing this, we are at risk. I… I don't want to lose you Bill. I don't want to deal with losing you like that. It still haunts me; it still makes me wake up with a scream on my lips as I see it over and over in my dream, only ten times worse than the reality. It just gets to me, and seeing you here and whole makes me quite thankful for you being here still."

Jason rubbed his thumbs over Billy's knuckles, noticed how his hands were rough yet tender and exuded strength. He placed a gentle kiss on each palm, and then tried to collect himself enough to go on. Billy didn't let him say too much, as he leaned over and kissed Jason with a quiet passion that stilled the other boy, and conveyed what Billy couldn't put into words at the moment. He pulled Jason into a fierce hug and held on to him for a long time, not speaking just savoring the moment.

After a while Jason pulled back and rubbed at his eyes, which were damp from their embrace. Billy wiped at his eyes as well, trying to conceal the fact that he had been so touched by that moment of stillness between them. He kissed Jason again, and leaned into it, not caring if anyone walked in on them, Jason was his and he wanted to claim him as such. Luckily for them, no one walked in on their passionate exchange and Billy stopped, took a moment to breathe and then wrapped his hands in Jason's before speaking again.

"Jase, you know I'm not good with discussing my feelings nor am I good at talking about these things, especially with what's been going on with me…but rest assured that you won't lose me. Even if we should be separated by death you won't lose me. Don't let this consume you Jase, and don't let the possibility of what could happen get you so worked up. What happens just happens. I've had to accept that for what it is; otherwise I'd never had been able to accept mom's death. I'm not over it, but I've accepted it for what it is. A tragic accident that robbed the world of some of its light, and destroyed me but it was still a tragedy."

Jason hugged Billy fiercely again, then stood up and offered his hand to Billy to pull him up. "I know your right Billy, but the wound is too fresh, it's only been a week and none of us have really dealt with it. William and the other Jason are holed up in San Diego, Tommy and Kim are off trying to cope with their problems, and I have no idea what the others are up to since we lost him. I know everyone has to be hurting in some way, but none of us has dealt with it." Jason spoke softly as he embraced Billy, it was almost like he didn't want to let the Blue Ranger to get further away than arms length, and to be sure he was still there.

Little did the Rangers know, their mentor had been observing them in the week since Rocky's demise, to be sure they were dealing with what happened. Unfortunately not all of them were coping well with their loss. He decided to take action, lest this tragedy tore the team to shreds. Zordon decided that they needed a weekend away, from their parents, friends and other family, especially in Billy's case to discuss what happened. He summoned them to the command centre, and everyone responded albeit a bit warily.

There was no monster alarm blaring, so they wondered what was going on. William looked like he'd been woken from some much needed rest, the other Jason was glowering at the tube that held Zordon's image. Tommy and Kim looked nervous, while Rocky, Aisha, Adam, Zack and Trini looked surprised to be there at all. Billy looked up at Zordon, wondering precisely he was up to.

"Zordon, why have we been summoned when there is no attack going on?"

"BILLY, I HAVE BEEN OBSERVING ALL OF YOU FOR THE LAST WEEK, AND I AM CONCERNED ABOUT YOU ALL. SINCE ROCKY WAS NOT OFFICIALLY PART OF THIS REALITY, IT IS HARD TO MOURN HIM WITHOUT GIVING AWAY YOUR IDENTITIES, OR YOUR ASSOCIATION WITH THE POWER RANGERS. I AM SENDING YOU ALL ON A WEEKEND TRIP.

I ASK THAT YOU TAKE THIS TIME TO DISCUSS WHAT HAS OCCURRED, AND DISCUSS OTHER EVENTS THAT HAVE THREATENED THE HARMONY OF THE TEAM. MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO BE GONE FOR THE WEEKEND WITH YOUR FAMILIES. I WILL PROVIDE THE LOCATION TO YOU AS WELL AS SUPPLIES. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS?"

The rangers were a little too stunned to speak at the moment. None of them had expected Zordon to force them to work on their issues like this, and not command them to just get it together in such a short time.

Jason looked at Billy then back to Zordon before he finally spoke up.

"Zordon, what good do you think this will do? Why can't we mourn in private as we've been doing? Forcing us to talk probably will not work, as each of us is dealing with it in our own ways."

"JASON, I APPRECIATE YOUR CANDOR. HOWEVER, I AM NOT FORCING YOU TO TALK. WHETHER OR NOT YOU ALL DEAL WITH IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. I AM PROVIDING A CHANCE FOR YOU ALL TO MEET AND DISCUSS THESE ISSUES AS A TEAM AND AS FRIENDS. MONDO HAS TAKEN A BIG LOSS WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF HIS LATEST CREATION, WE CANNOT AFFORD TO HAVE SUCH DISPARITY IN THE TEAM IF WE ARE TO CONTINUE TO WIN AGAINST THE THREAT OF KING MONDO."

William snorted rudely at the mention of them working things out as friends. "That's funny Zordon. You speak as if we are all age old pals. I know for a fact that our presence was not needed or wanted at the time we asked for assistance, nor was that assistance given without a fight. My grief is my own to deal with. I do not need forced group therapy to deal with my loss. Least of all with someone who could not get past what happened to another version of himself in my former plane of reality. Now, if you'll excuse us I was getting some much needed sleep that I was pulled out of for this farce."

William moved to teleport out, but his Jason stayed his hand. "Wait Will, give them a chance to discuss things. No one said you that had to discuss Rocko, nor would you want to. There are other issues at hand, not merely our loss, and it was our loss not just yours."

William let his hand drop, trying to read the unspoken words in his lover's eyes as he spoke quietly and fiercely to William. "Only because you wish it Jase, only for you." William growled under his breath and stood with his arms crossed and glaring at the floor.

Billy didn't look too pleased either, but he figured they were stuck and if their cohesiveness was at risk, it didn't hurt to at least try to work some things out. Like the problem between him and Tommy. His Jason had let his hand wander to Billy's shoulders in a protective gesture while he pondered the coming weekend.

Adam, Aisha and Rocky were quiet, they knew things needed to be resolved and almost looked forward towards chipping away some of the tension that had surrounded everyone in the last weeks. Trini and Zack shrugged then turned to Zordon as well.

"Ok, why did you pull us back here Zordon? We've been at the Peace Conference and aren't even sure what you're referring to." Trini asked as she leaned back and noticed how close Billy and Jason were to each other. She also noticed the way Aisha kept near Rocky, almost like she had to convince herself he was still there.

"AS MEDIATORS IN A WAY TRINI AND ZACK. YOU TWO HAVE KNOWN KIM, JASON, AND BILLY THE LONGEST OF ANYONE HERE. YOU WERE ALSO TWO OF THE ORIGINAL RANGER TEAM. I THINK YOUR KNOWLEDGE CAN BE OF USE AS WELL AS LENDING SUPPORT TO YOUR TEAM MATES. I WILL SUMMON YOU ALL AGAIN ON SATURDAY MORNING, UNLESS YOU WOULD PREFER TO MEET HERE THE NIGHT BEFORE.

TAKE THE TIME BEFORE THIS TRIP TO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS AMONGST YOURSELVES. MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU ALL. "

Zordon's tube darkened, leaving the rangers wondering how bad things had gotten to get Zordon involved in their non-rangering lives. Billy and Jase shrugged it off as something that needed to be done; the others had started to chat amongst themselves about what this could mean for them as a team and as friends. William was leveling a nuclear grade glare at Tommy while his Jason shook his head and walked over to his double to chat. Billy gave Tommy a glance before he wandered over to William and pulled him aside.

"Look, I know you don't want to do this and from the sound of it none of us are too keen on the idea; but nothing will be resolved if you don't stop throwing daggers every time you lay eyes on Tommy. He is not the same asshole that tormented you in your world. Here, he's a good man, our team leader and on occasion a real jack ass when it comes to some things. I know you don't want him judging you for what happened on your world, but you are doing the same to him."

William rolled his eyes and yawned. "I am not doing the same thing. I am treating him as he treated me. He could not get past what happened on my world and treated me like an enemy for it. I am returning the favor. Normally, I'd enjoy this conversation but I am dog tired. I'm going back to bed for a while. If you and Jason are up for it, why not come down for dinner or a late lunch?" William stifled another yawn then let his Jason know he was headed home for a bit.

"Ok, I'll be along in a little while. Sleep well my love." Jason kissed him soundly before waving off his teleportation beam and turning back to his double, who was shocked that he would be so open with his expressions of affection with William.

"Aren't you worried you'll be harassed for being so out in the open? At least in this reality?" Jason said as he found Billy at his side and a slightly calloused hand slipping into his.

"Nope, we could care less. After all, what do we have to lose? We spent too much time fighting for this, for us to give a care about other's narrow mindedness. We have more important things to worry about here, like survival. Don't let moments slip past you both, as we know time is short and should be preserved for what it is. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to a warm bed and a sleepy Panther." The other Jason gave them a saucy wink then teleported out.

Billy gave Jase a small grin before he squeezed his hand and went to chat with Trini and Zack. He was glad to see them, and didn't want to waste a chance to catch up. Jason wound up with Tommy at his side, just observing the others in their group of friends. He acknowledged Tommy with a nod of his head, then spoke softly to his old friend.

"Guess we really bollixed things up if Zordon feels the need to step in Tommy. I don't see how we let things get so far out of control." Jason said with a trait of bitterness in his voice that Tommy felt more than he could say.

"Correct that bro'. It was I who made a good portion of this mess what it is now. As a pink crane pointed out to me, I was getting a little too big for my gi. We'll make it right, somehow bro… we will."

Tommy nodded to Jason before joining the others. Jason leaned against the console and observed his friends, all of them… but Billy in particular. He hadn't seen his Wolf so animated in weeks and it was nearly a miracle to see anything on his face other than a scowl for what he was dealing with at home and with the team. Jason smiled before he pushed off and went to join his friends, thinking that perhaps they would be ok after all.


End file.
